Into The Black
by cryo247
Summary: 300 years ago Khan was a child. He had no name, couldn't speak, and had no family. But he did have one thing, a friend who gave him everything at her own cost. Now Khan is confronted with his past and the events that made him a monster. Please Review! Khan/OC
1. Chapter 1

Intro:

"Captain we found another body," Dr. Mcoy yelled over his shoulder.

James Kirk ran over to where his friend was standing over one of the torpedo's. All 72 of them were accounted for but they found one hidden in a corner of the Enterprise. Mcoy was standing over the torpedo's center staring down at the center.

"What the hell?" Kirk asked as the two looked down. There was a young woman who had to be in her mid twenties was staring up at them. The rest of the bodies had their eyes closed and looked to be in a perpetual state of bliss but this one was different. Her eyes were open and staring up at them. Her mouth was slightly open and she looked as if she was stuck between life and death.

"What should we do?" Mcoy asked. He could see the dried blood and the hole in her shirt from where a bullet lodged itself into her abdomen. If they woke her up they ran the risk of her being exactly like Khan and with Khan still on board neither knew what would happen if they met.

Krik shook his head, "I'm asking Khan about her, you try to unfreeze her."

"Captian with all due respect that's a risk I don't think we can take," Mcoy said as he looked down at the half dead girl, "What if she's like Khan?"

"Simple, we can use her to find out what he's really about," Kirk said with a smirk as took a picture of the woman with his PADD then he turned and left. Since they brought Khan on board things we're becoming very unclear. Kirk stormed into the brig and dismissed the jailer so he could speak with Khan in private.

The madman was sitting in his cell staring ahead at the white wall. Kirk stood with his hands clasped behind his back and took a deep breath, "We found a 73rd torpedo, with a body inside."

"Impossible," Khan said simply without breaking his ever focused gaze.

Kirk pulled up the picture and pressed the PADD to the glass, "Possible."


	2. Chapter 2

One:

-300 years earlier-

"Sir, I can't be expected to keep the, child, in my house," a nervous all too new scientist stammered.

His commanding officer leaned back with a cigar between his index and middle finger, "Harrison you have no choice; this is an order not a request."

"But sir I have a daughter of my own how am I suppose to explain bringing home an eight year old boy to her?" John Harrison was a nervous man. He was always cautious when it came to involving his family with his work. The two didn't mix from the get go and he didn't want to get his wife and daughter hurt.

"This is an order Harrison," he took a drag on his cigar, "The child isn't developing properly. Being around other children his age should fuel his growth," the government pour billions into the Augmented project and their first test subject was less than perfect. The boy was eight years old, had no name, and couldn't speak. So far the project was a colossal failure.

John shook his head, "I can't just throw the boy into my family's life. My daughter is going into first grade and my wife and I just had another baby it's too much all at onc-"

"Harrison if you don't do this then your position will be terminated, you will never find another respectable job, and I will personally make sure that you are never allowed back in the country again is that clear?" The general asked as he leaned forward. John Harrison shifted in his seat and avoided the general's hard hawk like gaze.

Reluctantly John nodded, "How long will he be with me?"

"Fifteen years," the general said as he leaned back taking a long drag on the cigar.

"Sir, fifteen years? Isn't that a little too much?" John asked, "We want him to develop not become a human."

The general shrugged, "A little bit of both may not hurt in the coming years. Get the boy and bring him to meet your family. You have the rest of the day off, it's your little girl's birthday correct?"

John nodded and the general handed him a small box, "Take this and tell that little girl of your's I said happy birthday and to treat our billion dollar project with respect."

Hesitantly John took the box and nodded as he stood. The general stood and the two saluted each other before the scientist left. His hands were shaking as he held the box so tightly he was denting it. The boy was strange to say the least. Harrison was in charge of mixing his genetics for the past three years.

John stopped in front of the child's cell where a little boy sat slumped against the wall staring out the small window. He held a book in his lap but wasn't reading it. John opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, kiddo," he suddenly realized that the boy didn't have a name, "I'm taking you to live with me for a bit, wouldn't that be fun?"

The boy nodded and John walked over and began to pack his bag. He handed the boy the small box to carry while John carried his blue duffel bag. The boy looked down at the box in wonder as the two walked side by side out of the facility. John lead the way to his green Land Rover and tossed the bag into the back seat. The boy crawled into the front seat and John buckled him in. He knew he wasn't suppose to allow an eight year old in the front of a car but he could care less.

John pulled out of the government facility flashing his ID at the proper checkpoints. The drive from the Arizona base back to his home in Phoenix was in silence. The boy stared out the window in wonder. He was clutching the edge, it was probably his first time outside.

"Listen you're going to be staying with my family and I for a while. You're going to be the oldest in the house so watch out for the other two. You'll be going to school and doing chores like any other kid," he stopped and turned for a moment. The boy was still sitting on his knees looking out the window, "Are you paying attention?"

The boy nodded and sat back down. John pulled the SUV into the driveway of a tan ranch style house. The boy looked around the neighborhood at the children playing. None of them seemed to notice the car except a little girl with wavy brown hair. She stood with a ball in hand and threw it down. She raced over to the car giggling wildly and waving her hands up and down.

The boy watched as John turned off the car and got out. He bent over and let the little girl jump into his arms, swung her, and laughed. The boy frowned and opened the door climbing out of the car. He ran around and watched as John set her down. The little girl looked up at the boy who was three inches taller than her with a smile on her face.

"Daddy is this my birthday present?" She looked up at her father with a smile.

John ruffled his daughters hair and smiled softly, "In away," he turned to the boy, "This is my daughter Mara, Mara this is, your new friend."

Mara turned to the boy and smiled as her father walked away. He wanted to check on his wife and the baby, "Do you have a name?"

He shook his head and looked down embarrassed, He noted how she stretched her 'a's when she spoke. This was the first time he ever had a conversation with someone his age. She tilted her head to the side and chewed softly on her lower lip, "Can you speak?"

Again he shook his head and she frowned. She slipped her tiny hand into his and dragged him towards the house. The two children ran into the house and into the kitchen where her parent's were standing talking. John Harrison nearly had a heart attack when he saw his daughter holding hands with the boy.

"He doesn't have a name," Mara pointed out with a frown. The boy looked down at her shocked as she stood glaring at her parents.

John and his wife exchanged looks as their daughter stood there hand in hand with an experiment, "He will pick his own name," her father reassured her.

"Alright!" Mara declared as she pulled her new friend towards her room. The boy struggled to keep up with the smaller girl as she ran down hall after hall. When they came to a room at the end of the hall Mara threw the door open.

The room was light pink and was bright. Sun poured into the room making it look like a paradise compared to the all white cell he was used to. Mara dropped his hand and went running over to her bed and pulled herself up on it. She patted the white down comforter and he hesitantly walked over to her.

"You can sit up here if you want," Mara gave him a toothless smile. The boy returned her smile and pulled himself up and sat down across from her.

"You can stay in here with me and we'll be bestest friends!" Mara declared as she handed him a brown teddy bear, one similar to the one she had sitting behind her, "This is Mr. Bear. He's a good bear and will be your friend, just like me."

The boy fumbled with the brown bear for a moment before smiling and nodding. Mara smiled and flattened down her white dress, "What would you like me to call you?"

He thought for a moment about every name he heard in his short eight years. Hundreds of names passed his ears but he never liked any of them. After a moment of hard thinking his face lit up as he spoke his first word.

"Khan."


	3. Chapter 3

Two:

-Three years later-

"Khan wait up I'm not that fast!" A nine year old Mara whined as she walked behind a much taller Khan. She was dragging her book bag in the grass as the pair shuffled down the street to the bus stop.

Eleven year old Khan turned to look at his only friend, "Keep up Mara you're just being lazy."

She narrowed her eyes and blew a piece of hair that fell out of her headband out of her eyes, "Meanie," she mumbled. Khan sighed and stopped for a moment to wait for the smaller girl to catch up. Mara's green eyes lit up as she pulled on her bag and ran to catch up with him.

"Happy?" Khan huffed as they drew closer to the end of their street. A small group of kids were gathered around the stop sign that doubled as their bus stop. Khan gripped the strap of his bag harder when he saw a few boys from his class.

Mara noticed his sudden discomfort and took her friend's hand, "It's okay they won't hurt you."

Khan nodded and squeezed her hand. For the past three years Khan had trouble adjusting to life in suburbia. The kinds on the block shunned him because he didn't speak to them. The Harrison's accepted the quiet but brilliant boy with ease thought. His only friend was Mara, the tiny girl with soft curls and constantly scabbed knees. The kids in his class called him 'freak', 'spaz', 'retard', and anything else that would get a rise out of Khan. For than once he would sit in the coat closet where Mara would find him at the end of the day.

But it as a new year and Khan was determined to make friends.

One of the boys, Tony Davis, turned and smiled as if it was Christmas when he saw Khan, "Look it's the freak and the baby!"

"Hey I'm not a baby I'm nine!" Mara yelled as she took a step towards the boy. She dropped Khan's hand and pointed a finger at the boy, "Don't call him a freak either!"

"Why not that's what he is. The freak didn't speak until he was eight," Tony said as he smiled down at Mara, "You're just as bad, you're a freak just like him!"

Mara narrowed her eyes then punched the taller boy as the bus came. Tony hunched over holding his now bleeding nose as Mara turned smiling as she picked up her bag. Khan stood there shocked, "Mara you're going to get in trouble."

She shrugged, "I know," and turned to board the bus. Khan watched in amazement then reluctantly followed his only friend.

"Freak!" One of the girls in Khan's class called as he walked in. Khan took his seat in the front of the class in a corner and shut his eyes. He counted backwards from ten to calm himself like John taught him. Khan always had anger issues but managed to learn a few ways to control them.

A young teacher with blond hair and a southern accent walked into the room, "Well good mornin' class my name is Ms. Addison and I will be your teacher this year. Now why don't we go around an' introduce ourselves by saying our names and something we'd like to share with the class,"she looked around and stopped pointed a manicured nail at Khan, "Why don't you start."

Khan shut his eyes as he let of a quiet groan. His superior hearing picked up on the smirks and comments he got as he stood, "My name's Khan-"

"Full name sweetie," Ms. Addison said with a smile.

"Khan Noonien Singh," his last name was a combination of the names of the scientists that created him, "And I like books."

"Freak!" Tony yelled from the back of the class. Khan turned and glared at the boy as he imagined every way he could kill him. Tony was a small weak human it would be easy. He would strangle- no he would crush his skull and watch as the life left his eyes.

"Now now class that's not positive behavior," Ms. Addison said as she tried to mask her look of confusion.

Khan sat down ducking his head, another year another teacher who agreed with his classmates. The class went on introducing themselves then Ms. Addison declared it was math time and began to brush the class up on what they covered last year. Khan sat there creating his own Sudoku puzzles; he knew everything she was teaching them. With his superior intelligence Khan could do calculous, this math was childs play to him.

The rest of the day went on like all the others; kids ignored him in class, made fun of him at lunch, and he ran to find Mara at recess. Like always Mara was sitting on the swings with a few of her friends. They were braiding each other's hair and talking about the vacations they went on over the summer. Khan awkwardly stood on the edge of the play ground with his hands stuffed in his jeans waiting.

Eventually Mara looked up from one of her friends hair. The blond girl whose hair she was braiding moments ago looked at Khan and frowned, "There's that weirdo why is he looking at you Mara?"

"Because he's my best friend," Mara said forcefully as she slid off of the swing. She walked over to where Khan was with her lunch box in tow, "Did they take your lunch again?"

Khan nodded and followed Mara to a secluded part of the play ground. The two sat down under a slide that no one used and Mara opened her tin Scooby Doo lunch box. She took out a spare sandwich and juice box for Khan. Very early on Mara found out that it was best to bring two lunches and two sets of clothes with her to school, she never knew when Khan was going to need them.

Knowing he had very little time Khan ate the PB&J sandwich quickly and drank the juice box with in one long sip. Mara sat there cross legged waiting patiently for him to be done. When he finished Mara put his drash into her lunch box and looked at Khan, "Why don't you see if you can be home schooled?"

"No that would show weakness," Khan snapt.

Mara was unphased by his answer, "It's not showing weakness Khan it's being human."

"I'm not human Mara," he hissed as he stood.

Mara folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes, "You're only as inhuman as you want to be."

Khan stormed away from their meeting place. Mara sat there watching him walk away. They always got in these squabbles but they never lasted long. She bowed her head and sighed, she hated these moments.

The bus ride home was in silence. Marand Khan sat side by side but Mara sat with her back to him staring out the window. Khan was busy reading a chemistry textbook he stole from the library and trying to forget how he snapped at Mara.

"Whatcha readin' freak?" Tony Davis asked as he snatched the book out of Khan's hands, "This stuff is stupid just like you!"

Tony threw the book at Khan's head. It hit him in the nose and a thin trickle of blood dripped down. Mara's eyes widened as she saw his pure black blood. Khan looked down ashamed as Tony pointed a finger at him, "Everyone look the freak has black blood!"

Mara narrowed her eyes and took out her sweatshirt. She handed it to Khan then stood on the seat, "Leave him alone Tony!"

"Why are you standing up for him Harrison?" Tony's freckled face turned into a sneer.

"Because he's my best friend and if you're going to call him a freak then I'm one too!" She said as she crossed her eyes and began to bark at Davis and his goons.

The bus jerked at their stop and they filed out. Mara uncrossed her eyes and took her backpack in one hand then bravely marched off of the bus with Khan in tow.

Later that night the Harrison's sat down to dinner. Mara sat next to Khan like always with her mother and father sitting across from them. Three year old Abby sat at the head of the table eating her third grilled cheese of the day. Mara poked at her food uninterested in eating. Khan was the same way but leaned back away from the food.

"Are you two not hungry again" Her mother asked with a small smile.

Both shook their heads and John smiled, "Alright your plates will be in the oven incase you two get hungry, go run off and play outside before bed."

The two eagerly slipped off of their chairs and ran for the sliding glass door. Khan pulled open the door and the two ran into the small back yard to lay down and stare at the stars.

Mara laid beside Khan with her hands behind her head, "Have you ever wondered what's up there?"

Khan nodded knowing that their argument from earlier was erased, "One day I'll be up there, I'm made for that you know."

"You're not made Khan you were born, I bet out there somewhere you have a mommy and a daddy that miss you," Mara didn't like thinking he was just some lab grown experiment.

The two were quiet for a moment allowing each other to just bask in the night sky. Finally Mara turned to look at Khan's pale face, "Hey Khan."

"Yeah Mara," he asked as he turned and looked at her.

"Will you take me to see the stars one day?"

He smiled and nodded as he squeezed her hand, "Of course."

**Honestly I have a feeling little kid Khan would have been adorable, well before he became hell bent on ruling humanity. Please review, follow, or favorite!  
-Cryo**


	4. Chapter 4

Three:

-On the Enterprise-

"Impossible," Khan whispered as he stood and walked over to the glass.

"Who is she?" Kirk asked as he watched the sudden shift in Khan's demeanor. His once stoic expression was now a look of pain and longing.

Khan shook his head, "She is a ghost of my past. I didn't think they got her to a pod," his green eyes were fixated on the picture, "What are you doing with her?"

Kirk took away the PADD and saw the look of pain flashing through Khan's eyes, "That's classified I just need to know who she is and why she is in one of your torpedos."

"Unless you can swear that I can see her I will tell you nothing," Khan's voice dripped with venom. He turned away from Kirk and sat down on his cell bed staring ahead.

"I can't promise you anything Khan, we don't even know if it's safe to take her out. Tell me this then I can tell you what we're going to do with her," Kirk knew he was dueling with the devil. Khan was smarter than any man Kirk ever met and could easily outsmart him. But information about the woman in the ice seemed to be important to Khan, and thus it had to be his weakness, "Is she like you?"

Khan shook his head, "She's the most human woman you'll ever meet."

With that Kirk nodded and turned to leave but was stopped by Khan, "What are you going to do with her?"

"Who knows," Kirk lied as he walked out of the brig. Keeping her encased would give them leverage against Khan but having her on their side would be even better. She could offer information about the superhuman and even convince him to atone for his crimes. Kirk made his way back to the Enterprise ICU where Mcoy and three other blue clad doctors stood around her torpedo.

"She's human," Krik breathed as he looked down at her, "What are we going to do?"

"If the Captain approves," Mcoy started as he looked up, "I'd like to unfreeze her."

-Arizona 300 years earlier-

Another two years went by without many things going on. Mara got a few inches taller, Khan got more protective of her, and Abby started school. The Harrison house was quiet on an early Sunday morning. Khan and Mara were sleeping on opposite ends of the couch with her purple comforter pulled up to their necks. Cartoons were the only noise in the room.

John shuffled into the room after another late night of work. He moved his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Work was killing him. Between creating more of the super humans and parenting the one that followed around his daughter like a god it was starting to take a toll on him. Bags were forming under his eyes and his hair was getting grayer by the year.

He looked over the back of the couch expecting nothing to be there but groaned. For the past two weeks Khan and Mara took to sleeping on the couch. With school done the two had a bad habit of staying up well into the night star gazing. Molly thought it was adorable but John was starting to dislike how close the two were. He never intended for his daughter to get so attached, it wasn't good for her. Khan wasn't a permanent part of her life, he would be gone in ten years or sooner. Whenever his abilities began to show Khan would be gone, no questions asked.

Mara stirred in her sleep pulling the blanket tighter to her, "Khan your feets are cold," she mumbled in her sleep.

John shook his head as Khan pressed his face harder into the pillow. The now thirteen year old Augment was snoring lightly. John walked passed them and began to make breakfast for everyone. It was a rare occasion when John Harrison made breakfast for his family.

Pancakes, today was a pancakes kind of morning. Their neighborhood was slowly beginning to pull itself out of it's groggie state. Kids took to the streets organizing kickball games and other activities. John looked over his shoulder wishing for a moment that Mara would get out and make more friends. Khan seemed to have a spell over the eleven year old girl. They were inseparable since he first arrived. She taught him how to speak, defended him, and even got into fights at school to help him. It was a vicious cycle, one would come home with a bloody nose, the other would come home with a detention. If it wasn't for their perfect grades John would have had them separated years ago.

But getting paid a bit extra each month helped.

"Dad?" Mara's voice called from the archway to the living room.

John looked over his shoulder at his eldest and smiled, "Morin' sleeping beauty."

Mara yawned and smiled sheepishly. She shuffled over to the kitchen island and hopped up onto one of the stools, "Are you making pancakes," he nodded and she laid her arms on the countertop, "You never make pancakes."

"Today I am," her father said with a smile.

Mara noticed how is white shirt was wrinkled and his khakis weren't perfectly pressed, "You slept at the office?"

"I had a lot of work to do," He muttered. His daughter was smart, smarter than most children her age. She was able to pick up on emotion and what people were doing without talking to them.

There was a small moment of silence before Mara spoke, "Are you making more people like Khan?"

He stopped and flipped a pancake, "I have to Mara."

She shook her head, "You don't have to daddy. Why does work want more Khan's?"

"Because one day they will be very important to us," he said simply as he put one of the pancakes onto a plate.

"What about them dad, what about their lives?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

John tossed his spachula aside and leaned over the stove, "Mara they are not like us; they don't think like us, they're savage geniuses whose only purpose is to win wars and bring about peace. Do not make the mistake of treating them like they're our equal."

Mara sat there shaking from the power in her father's voice. She had been scounded many times but never like this. It was the first time her father mentioned Khan in a negative manner. After a moment of the tension filled silence Mara slid off the stool and stood glaring at her father, "You're wrong dad."

With that Mara stormed out of the room. John listened to his daughter's footsteps echoing down the hall followed by the door slamming. He leaned down resting his head between his hands and let out a long irritated sigh.

"I'm not savage John, I promise."

John sat up but didn't turn towards the voice, "Go to your room Khan."

Khan hesitated for a moment but walked towards his room. Every step seemed harder than the last. When he finally got to his room Khan decided not to go. He turned and walked to the room across from him and opened the door.

Mara was sitting on her bed with her legs pulled to her chest. She was crying into her arms. If she heard the door opening she didn't bother to look up. Khan silently shut the door and walked over to her. He climbed up onto her bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't think you're a monster Khan," Mara muttered between sobs.

Khan nodded, "I know you don't Mar."

She wrapped her arms around his torso and cried into his shirt, "Khan I don't want you to be bad. You're my best friend I can't lose you."

"I promise I won't be Mara," Khan lied. Ever since he was young he felt rage. Rage was the only emotion Khan could truly connect with. He knew it's cold embrace as if it was his mother. He convinced himself that he was a child of rage, hell bent on destroying everything. Now his suspicions were answered, he was a weapon.

Mara nodded and slowly let go, "Dad is just tried. He didn't mean any of that did he?"

Khan shook his head, "Not at all," it was the second time he lied to her that day.

**Okay I'm sorry for the painfully short chapters. They will be getting longer I swear. Love you all and remember; review, follow, and favorite! **


	5. Chapter 5

Four:

Weeks went by and the conversation regarding Khan's temper never arouse. Then weeks turned into months which slowly melted into years. It was an unspoken understanding between the two; they were never to mention it. Khan and Mara went about their daily routine trying to keep things normal. John never mentioned the conversation to his daughter again. He occasionally received a bitter glare from the girl but it was to be expected.

Four years went by before Khan had an incident.

"Mara lets go!" Khan yelled down the hall.

Mara came running out of her room pulling a tan jumper over her head. She had one black Converse on and the other was hanging by it's laces in between her teeth. She stopped and dramatically pulled the jumper down over her bare stomach and and let out a sigh.

"I woke up late," she stated as she tugged on the other shoe.

Khan rolled his eyes, "Obviously," the last four years deepened Khan's voice to a nice baritone. It also sprouted Khan seven inches making him stand just above six feet tall.

Mara smiled as she grabbed her bag, "Someone's in a bad mood."

"We're going to school, of course I'm in a bad mood," Khan muttered as they walked out the door.

She rolled her eyes, "Khanikins you need to try to be a bit happier. I know you prefer the dark brooding sexy act but a smile every now and then won't kill you."

Khan was taken back by her forwardness but accepted the compliment with ease, "I prefer to be serious and not act like a child."

"Are you sure I'm the only one here who PMS's?" Mara muttered as she ran a hand through her dark waves. Khan glared at her as the pair walked down the street together. These last five years turned Mara from the awkward rambunctious girl he knew to a beautiful young tried to tell himself that she was two years younger than he was but his mind always wondered back to her legs.

Though Mara was short she had long legs. They were beautiful, especially in the summer when she would wear shorts and dresses every day. Khan looked down and scowled at the light blue jeans that covered up her magnificent legs.

"Khan," Mara jumped up trying to meet his eyes, "Are you alright?"

Reluctantly Khan pried his eyes away from her, "You should have worn a dress."

"Are you kidding me?" Mara started, "It's December!"

He shrugged, "Dresses are more flattering on you than that sweater is."

Mara looked down at her sweater and frowned, "I like my sweaters."

"Suit yourself," he grumbled. For a year now he had these feelings for Mara. Every time she strolled out of the shower in shorts with water droplets still glistening on her skin his breath caught in his throat. John was started to notice his interest in Mara and it seemed to enrage him. Though John never voiced his opinion on the situation Khan saw the look in his eye when caught him staring. Mara didn't seem to notice it- and if she did she was good at acting as if she was oblivious.

As they approached the bus stop they heard a wolf whistle from behind them. Mara and Khan turned to see Tony walking down the sidewalk towards them. Two of his goons were walking behind him snickering.

"Fuck off Davis," Mara sneered.

Tony smirked and walked up to Mara, "What's the matter sweetheart, your freak have you on lock down?"

"Get away from her," Khan stretched out each word and took a step towards Tony. He stepped between the him and Mara with a dark look in his eyes.

"What just because you're taller than me you think I'm scared of you?" He challenged.

Mara knew that look in his eye. It was bloodlust. She carefully rested her hand on Khan's shoulder and squeezed, "Khan it's not worth it."

Tony smirked and ran a hand through his blond hair, "Listen to her freak or you may get killed."

Khan snapped. He lunged for Tony tackling him to the ground with one swift motion. Before Mara could respond the two were on the ground throwing punches at any open area. Mara screamed as she desperately tried to pull Khan off of the much smaller Tony. Khan delivered hit after hit to Tony's face until his nose was badly broken and his lip was split.

"Khan!" Mara screamed as she tackled Khan off of Tony. Tony's two friends watched in amazement as the small girl was able to tackled the much larger guy off of the battered Tony. Mara pinned Khan down with her elbow on his chest and looked over at Tony who was getting up.

Blood was rushing out of Tony's nose and now covered the collar of his white polo. She gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry."

"Shove your apology," Tony spat, "Why do you hang around him Mara? We were friends before he came, hell you had friends before he came!" He pointed to his noise, "And if you're not careful you will end up just like me, or worse."

With that the small group stormed away. Tony was yelling at one of his goons as the bus pulled up to the curb. Mara got off Khan and sat for a moment looking at him. She didn't know what to think. She just sat and watched her best friend nearly kill someone without showing a hint of remorse. Though Tony did have it coming after all these years it didn't make up for the beating Khan just gave him.

"Mara I-" he started but was stopped by Mara simply getting up. She grabbed her bag and started towards the bus. Khan sat with his head in his hands cursing himself. He didn't get up to go on the bus that day. He just sat there for an hour with the images of him breaking Tony's nose running through his mind.

They were intoxicating.

Everything about the memories drove Khan into overdrive. The feeling of Tony's much weaker bones snapping at the force of his genetically superior knuckles was like heroin. He wanted more.

Khan stood leaving his bag in the dust and pulled up the hood of his black sweatshirt. He got onto a bus for Phoenix and headed towards the place that would bring him to his dreams. He needed the lust of battle to flow through his veins. The rage he always felt was released when he began to beat Tony. It was what he was meant to do-

He was meant to kill.

The school day went by in a daze. Mara seemed to float form class to class but didn't take anything in. When teachers asked her for work she either ignored them or just left. It was out of character for the normally pleasant straight A student.

When the final bell rang Mara didn't get on the bus to go home. She left campus and walked two streets over until she found a taxi that would take her 20 miles outside Phoenix. The ride would leave her broke for the next two weeks but it was the only way she could get to her father.

A half an hour later and $100 poorer Mara slammed the door of the yellow taxi. She looked up at the gate of the military base she visited as a child and sighed. Walking up to the gate she gave the new attendee a smile, flashed her ID, and did a bit of name dropping. Eventually after complimenting his tie and his awful haircut he let her in.

Some of her father collies smiled at her and waved when she walked by. To be polite Mara returned the gestures and tried to hide her look of rage. Once inside her fathers building Mara ducked into a few corners to avoid higher officers. She wasn't suppose to be in here. At the gate she lied and said that she needed to see her brother who was on guard duty and if she was found the attendee would lose his job.

After a few close calls Mara came to her father's office. The door was open slightly and a strand of light was pooling out. Without hesitation Mara threw the door open causing her father to barely jump. He was staring into the microscope and didn't seem interested in his daughter barging into his office.

"Mara, what are you doing here?" He finally asked as she shut the door behind her.

Mara stood with her arms crossed over her chest, "Khan, what is he suppose to be?"

Her father sat up and began to clean his glasses with the sleeve of his lab coat, "He is a person, just like you so passionately told me."

"Cut the condescending bullshit dad," She snapped suddenly, "What is Khan?!"

John was taken back by her sudden outburst, "Mara I can't tell you. He's government property-"

"No he is a person and doesn't belong to anyone," she snapped and pointed a finger at him, "I want to know why I just watched my best friend snap to the point where I didn't even know him! So tell me dad, .Khan?!"

He looked to the door and waited for a moment before he started to speak, "He is an experiment. At first he was believed to be a malfunction, his anger didn't show, and he didn't speak. So we made more in hopes that one day we will be able to use them to fight our wars and bring peace," he took a step towards his daughter, "Mara he's not human. He's a super human who will one day show no remorse for taking lives," he gestured to his lab, "The government constructed him here, he's an experiment not a man,"

"So you brought him home so he would develop his, abilities?" She asked.

Harrison nodded, "So far he's on schedule, except for the rage part you've done an extraordinary job and stunning that," he looked down at his watch and shook his head, "We best be getting home. Your mother will be wondering where you've been."

John walked past her but Mara stopped, "You didn't ask where Khan was."

"Well where is he?" John asked as he realized for the first time his daughter was alone.

Mara shook her head as she turned pale, "I don't know."

Mara Harrison pulled her father's Land Rover into the driveway going 60 miles per hour. The duration of the ride was spent in silence and Mara going 20 miles over the speed limit. John didn't say anything knowing it would only anger his daughter.

Luckily when they pulled into the driveway Khan was sitting on the front step. He had a smug smile on as he watched Mara leap from her father's car. He stood as she rushed towards him and hugged him close. Khan looked up at John for a moment before smirking and hugging her back. Scowling John disappeared into the house leaving the two alone for a moment.

Mara broke the hug and looked up at Khan before slapping him, "Where have you been you had me worried sick!"

He didn't flinch, he just looked down and chuckled, "I was out. Come we're going for a walk."

Mara went to protest but Khan wrapped an arm around her waist. She remained stiff as they walked until Khan finally spoke, "Did you miss me today?"

"I was worried I didn't know where you were," her voice was shaking and barely above a whisper.

Khan smirked and looked down at her. The two were standing in the middle of a back street staring up at each other. Khan moved closer to her and continued to look down as if he was a predator stalking his prey, "You left though, you couldn't have been that worried."

She looked up, "You didn't come after me."

As she looked up at him Khan began to slowly lean down.

**Oh god I'm awful at cliff hangers but I hope you guys liked it! I've been updating this about once a day. I should really get working on my Sherlock story- give it a aread if you'd like. You guys are amazing and thank you for all the positive feedback I've been getting! Please review, follow, and favorite!**

With love-

**Cryo **


	6. Chapter 6

***Disclaimer, minor Khara (Khana/Mara) sexy time. I don't own Star Trek, I just own Mara.***

Five:

Khan began to slowly lean down towards her lips. Mara looked up at his thin pale lips hesitating for a moment. She never kissed anyone before, would she do it correctly? Would she mess it up and ruin it?

Khan smirked at her hesitation and fear. He was still running off the high of walking the streets and picking fights with random people all day. Before Mara could open her mouth and ruin the moment Khan cupped her face and hunched over pressing his lips to hers.

The world seemed to stop and everything went quiet. The blood lust coursing through Khan seemed to drain and now all he felt was her lips on his. She hesitated for a moment but soon laced her fingers in his hair pulling her closer to him. It was something they both yearned for and now that it was happening it seemed surreal. He pulled her small body to him marveling at her weaker form. She would need protection, and he would be the one to do so.

When they broke the kiss Mara's head was spinning. She laid her hand on his chest and stared up into his eyes. Khan smiled down at her and took her hand that was resting on his chest while he pulled her to him tighter.

"I'm still mad at you," she said with a giddy childlike smile.

"Mara I wouldn't have it any other way," he liked rage on her. Her eyes lit up when she was angry. It was intoxicating. Khan ran his finger over her cheek and gently lifted her face to look at him, "What is wrong?"

"Where were you today?" She asked.

"Just taking a day to be myself," Khan smiled down at her.

Mara shook her head and held the hand that was resting on her cheek, "Please don't, that's what my father wants. He wants you to act like that, to be a monster. He's making more of you Khan. They want you to be a weapon. You can't let them make you into something, evil."

He took a step back from her scowling, "Good, let this spinless race see what I am capable of! I will lead them into total world domination, we will be the envy of the world."

Mara's jaw was open slightly in shock. Khan looked over his shoulder at her, "And when I rule over them, you will be my queen."

"No," the word flew from her mouth. Khan looked down at her in shock as he took a step towards her Mara began to talk again, "You can't act like that Khan it's not good for you."

He nodded and scowled, "You're right, I'm just overly excited from the kiss. Come let's go home."

It was the third time he lied to her.

-Three Years Later-

"Are they gone?" Mara asked as she poked her head out of the door.

"Mhm," Khan called from the living room. His nose was barried in his favorite book, _The Art of War. _If he was going to lead his people one day he needed to know everything about the act.

He heard her bare feet padding against the wooden floors as she came out of her room. For the past hour Mara had been obsessively going from the bathroom to her room then back again. He just laid there waiting for the Harrison's to leave for the weekend. By some miracle Khan and Mara convinced her parent's to let them skip going to her hippie Aunt Margo's for the weekend. Khan was looking forward to time alone with her.

Mara walked into the living room dressed in a pair of boxers and a tank top. Khan's brows knitted together for a moment as he put his book down, "Are those mine?"

She looked down and innocently smiled at him, "They may be," she slipped onto the couch beside him and turned so they were facing each other. Mara smiled as Khan wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her head.

A wicked smirk formed on his face as his hands traveled down her subtle curves until they came in contact with her rear. Mara playfully glared at him, "The only way you're getting them back is when I take them off."

"Well then we'll have to skip right to that now won't we?" His deep seductively accented voice cooed in her ear. That voice made the hair on the nape of Mara's neck stand on end.

Mara wrapped her arms around the back of his neck pulling Khan down for a passionate kiss. He rolled over so she was lying on top of him and reached up skillfully turning the light off. Mara kissed him deeply as she allowed his tongue to explore her mouth while she tugged his shirt off.

Their first time spending the night together was a little over two years ago. It was sweet and passionate but they had to cut it short because they were almost caught. Khan had to constantly remind himself to slow down, Mara's human body couldn't withstand his superior genetics.

He smirked and roughly grabbed her rear. He chuckled as she gasped and sat up for a moment giving him an innocent smirk then leaned down. She began to kiss from his jaw to his neck then gently sucked and nibbled on it. Khan smirked as he sat up. Her long bare legs wrapped around his waist and Khan ran his hands down the smooth lightly tanned skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter as she pulled away smirking.

"I didn't tell you to stop," Khan's deep voice grumbled as he stood. He held onto Mara's legs as they walked down to his room. She went back to kissing his neck while she went to take off her tank top.

Khan tossed her onto the bed where she bounced a bit and giggled. He smirked as he pulled off his shirt. Mara leaned back stretching one of her legs out as she looked up at him. Khan moved so he was over her and slipped his hands under her shirt dragging it up. Mara shivered at his cold hands brushing under her bra the leaned over shutting off the lights.

"Marry me," Khan said with a small smile as he ran his hand over her slight curves. A few beads of sweat ran down her cheek from the events of the past two hours.

Mara smiled slightly as she pulled Khan's white sheet tighter around her naked body, "Khan I'm 18, I start college in two weeks I can't just run off and get married."

Khan smirked and pulled her close to him. His dark hair was curling slightly and she could feel his breath on her cheek, "What about an engagement?"

Mara thought about it for a minute then smiled as she cupped his face with a hand, "Alright, an engagement it is."

He pulled her close to him and kissed her with such passion. Mara laced her arms around his neck and arched her back into him. Their naked bodies brushed against each other and the memory of what they were doing only an hour earlier flashed through their minds. Mara blushed slightly as she reluctantly pulled away from Khan.

Then the door to Khan's bedroom slammed open. John Harrison stood there staring at his daughter lying naked in bed with Khan. Mara's eyes went wide and her face instantly flushed as she pulled the sheet to her tighter.

" . . .Daughter," John hissed as his face turned bright red.

Mara jumped up and tugged the sheet closer to her, "Dad I promise this isn't what it looks like!"

"Shut up Margaret!" Her father yelled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He took out a walkie talkie, "Come in."

Mara turned to Khan who was pulling on a pair of jeans and stepped in front of Mara. Ten armed guards came rushing into the house guns raised pointing not at Khan but at Mara.

"Don't touch her," Khan hissed as he held his arm out in front of Mara.

"Khan Noonien Singh you're under arrest. Come with us or we will not hesitate to kill the girl," the SWAT leader said.

Mara looked at her father and began to yell, "You'd let them kill me?!"

"If that's what it takes," he hissed not taking his eyes off of Khan.

Khan slowly turned and looked down at Mara. He took her free hand and kissed her knuckles then lifted her face so she looked him in the eye, "Mara, never forget that I love you," he leaned down kissing her passionately. He wasn't sure if this was their last time seeing each other and if it was he wanted her to remember the kiss.

Tears ran down her face when Khan pulled away. Her father was watching them with such rage in his eyes. Khan wiped one of the tears away and gave her a thin smile, "I'll find you again Mara. I love you."

"I-I love you too," she managed to choke out as he turned. Khan was lead down the hall by the ten SWAT men. John glared at him as Mara pulled on Khan's button down and his boxers.

When her father turned back to his eldest daughter his wife and Abby were standing in the living room. Khan gave Abby a quick hug and kissed Molly's cheek goodbye before they left.

Mara felt her knees growing weak as tears began to stream down her cheek. Before she could collapse John grabbed her by the arm and slapped his daughter hard across the face. Her head jerked to the side but Mara didn't cry out.

"I hate you," she whispered as she looked up into his eyes, "Khan was nothing but nice to us! He fucking protected us you son of a bitch! He was my best friend and now he's gone because of you! I hate you!" She screamed. She didn't care if everyone in the neighborhood heard her. Most of them already thought she was insane.

"How dare you!" John screamed as he shook Mara. From the end of the hall Molly gasped and Abby began to cry, "You turned into his whore! His fucking whore! He's not even human Margrete."

She refused to let him break her. She looked into her father's green eyes, the eyes that they shared and scowled, "I will never forgive you for this."

John pushed his daughter away making her collide with the bed. Mara fell into a heap on the ground and pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. Slowly she began to cry. In a weak voice she whispered the only thing she could-

"I love you too Khan."

**Ahhh I loved writing this. Sorry it's a bit short but I've been working all week and and just exhausted. Love you guys, review, follow, and favorite!  
-Cryo**


	7. Chapter 7

Six:

-On the Enterprise-

"Good let's start to defrost her," Kirk muttered as he looked down at the woman encased in ice, "She'll be one thing we can hold against Khan."

McCoy nodded as he walked over to the pod and began to disable it, "What the hell is that Khan guy anyway?"

"A member of an experimental superhuman group. The experiments began 300 years ago, Khan being the first of course but went wrong. A military base went missing along with two scientist," Spock made his presence known.

The two men looked up at the Vulcan in awe. Kirk looked down at the pod, "Do you think she could be one of the missing scientists?"

"Highly unlikely," Spock said as he walked over to the pod and looked down, "An original human in perfect preservation. We should give this one to the Academy."

Kirk leaned on the examination table and shook his head, "No, we're waking her up."

"Permission to speak candidly," Spock asked as his brows knitted together. He was trying to analyse and assess why they would risk waking up the unknown woman.

"Granted," Kirk knew he was going to regret it.

Spock walked around the pod as he spoke, "If we wake her up we run the risk of her being loyal to Khan. She may be an original human but she is obviously here for a reason. Why would a group of superhumans save one woman's life unless she was important."

McCoy scowled, "I hate it when he makes a point."

"I always make a point Dr. McCoy," Spock said in his monotone voice.

"Spock does have a point but at this point we need someone who can tell us about Khan. We need leverage and she is leverage," Kirk said huskily then turned to McCoy, "Begin unfreezing her."

McCoy nodded and wheeled the pod into a compression chamber. He locked the door and stood outside the two foot thick glass walls as the heat began to melt the ice. Kirk and Spock stood behind McCoy watching as the ice began to melt quickly.

"What happens if she's just like Khan?" McCoy asked the question the three men were thinking.

"Simple; we throw her out the airlock," Spock said.

Kirk smirked and shook his head. There were times when the Vulcan was hard and heartless but still managed to throw some unintended humor into it, and this was one of those times.

A half an hour went by as if it was hours. The three men stood watching as the ice became thinner and thinner until the moment they were waiting for happened.

Her chest began to move. McCoy turned off the chamber and opened the door then pulled the stretcher out. She was going into shock. Blood began to soak through her white tee shirt from the bullet's entry path. Emotions were spilling from her panic stricken green eyes. Her lips were turning white along with her skin as she looked around.

"Nurse get me tweezers and an oxygen mask now!" McCoy yelled as a nervous blond nurse handed him the materials he needed, "Kirk hold the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth try to talk to her."

Kirk nodded and placed the mask carefully over her face. She looked up at him with tears flooding her eyes. She looked so scared.

McCoy gently lifted her shirt and saw the two bullet holes. He scowled and inserted the tweezers into the wound. He fished around for a moment before he found the bullet and began to pull it out. She arched her back and let out a cry of pain.

"Nurse sedate her now I can't have her bleed out!" McCoy yelled as he put the first bullet into a dish.

The nurse ran over to the girl and took one of her pale arms. The girl's green eyes were terrified as the nurse injected her with the sedative. Slowly her eyes rolled back and her thrashing body was calm. McCoy removed the last bullet then cardized the wound and bandaged it.

Spock shook his head, "This will end poorly."

"It's the only option we have," Kirk muttered as he slowly removed the mask. She looked peaceful in the sleep induced sleep, "And it better not fail us."

"_Marry me," Khan said with a small smile as he ran his hand over her slight curves. A few beads of sweat ran down her cheek from the events of the past two hours. _

_Mara smiled slightly as she pulled Khan's white sheet tighter around her naked body, "Khan I'm 18, I start college in two weeks I can't just run off and get married."_

_Khan smirked and pulled her close to him. His dark hair was curling slightly and she could feel his breath on her cheek, "What about an engagement?" _

_Mara thought about it for a minute then smiled as she cupped his face with a hand, "Alright, an engagement it is."_

Khan woke with a jolt. He always woke before the moment was ruined. He sat up resting his head in his hands and dug his fingers into his hair. The dream plagued his mind almost every night. He hated the weakness love brought him. It made him careless and soft, he would never allow it to take him over- even if Mara was alive. He hated the thought of the humans having her. She would wake up confused and alone, she would never trust him again.

"She's waking up," McCoy called.

Kirk looked up at his friend and nodded. For the past half an hour the young woman laid in a paper hospital dress sedated. Kirk got up and walked towards the door, "I would like some time alone with her," Kirk muttered.

McCoy nodded, "Of course."

The door slid open and she jumped. Kirk nodded dismissing the nurse that was chasing her IV. He wanted their first conversation to be totally interrupted. The nurse rushed out of the room and they were left alone.

"Do you know where you are?" Kirk thought it would be best to explain where she was.

She hesitated for a moment but shook her head. Kirk nodded and walked over so he was standing next to her, "You're on the USS Enterprize, my name is Captain James Tiberius Kirk and I am your friend."

"What year is it?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"2259," the color left her face instantly.

She shook her head, "No no no- that's- that's impossible. I- how am I here?" She looked terrified and confused. Kirk dragged a chair over and sat down beside her.

"How much do you remember about getting shot?" Kirk thought it would be best to start from there.

Her brows knitted together as she bit down on her lower lip, "I- I don't remember anything to be honest," She rubbed her eyes and sighed, "The last thing I remember was," she placed a hand on her stomach, "Was hear the military attack."

Kirk nodded, "Well we found you in a cryogenic pod. You were stuck between life and death but we were able to pull you back. You were shot, twice, in the abdomen. Do you really not remember that?"

She shook her head, "I'm sorry Captain Kirk I remember nothing."

He smiled at her formality. It was obvious that she was raised around military and authority figures, " Please just call me Kirk. Do you remember your name?"

She nodded, "Mara Harrison."

Kirk stopped and leaned back. The connection finally came out. He leaned back resting his hand on the arm of the chair, "Are you familiar with the man John Harrison?"

"Yes, that's my father is he alive?" A flash of hope went through Mara's eyes.

Kirk shook his head, "Sadly no."

She pulled the thin blankets close to her, "Oh god, everyone's dead. 300 years, how am I even alive?"

"The ice preserved your brain and stopped your cell from aging," Kirk tried to remember everything Spock told him about the pod and how they worked, "It put you in a perpetual state of rest. We found you earlier today and have been trying to revier you."

Mara nodded and stared down at the small bangle with a star hanging on it, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Kirk shifted in his seat. He knew what was coming next.

"Is Khan alive?" She said his name with such tenderness.

Kirk smirked, "He is, like you he was frozen for 300 years. I have some questions for you, if you feel up to answer them."

Mara nodded, "Alright, what would you like to know?"

"How long have you known Khan?" It was a good place to start.

"Practically all my life but just about 22 years," she said with a small fond smile, "We grew up together. He was my best friend and well we ended up being close."

Kirks nodded, "How would you categorize your relationship with him?"

"He was my best friend and lover I guess," her cheeks suddenly gained color as memories came back.

"Even with his temper and the things he's done?"

Again Mara nodded, "I-I know he's not necessarily a good person. Khan has a horrible temper but I was always able to calm him down," she looked at Kirk for a moment, "What has he done?"

Kirk took out his PADD and pulled up video footage of London and handed it to Mara. She examines the technology for a moment then the video began to play. Kirk watched her expression change. The only sound in the room was the sound of people screaming as London blew up.

"Why?" She whispered, "I have to talk to him let me please."

"Let's get you into some clothes and do a physical then we'll talk about going to visit Khan," Kirk stood and took the PADD from her outstretched hand, "One more question, what were you 300 years ago?"

"I was an astrophysicist," Mara answered simply as she glanced down at the IV's in her arm.

Kirk nodded, "I'll be right back."

Kirk walked out of her room into where Spock and McCoy were waiting. The two science officers stood at attention when they saw him. Kirk folded his arms over his chest and sighed, "She's an asset."

"Do you think she could tell us some of Khan's weaknesses?" Spock asked.

"She _is _his weakness," Kirk whispered. He didn't know how human she was and didn't want to run the risk of her hearing him, "Spock find out everything you can about Mara Harrison."

Spock nodded and left the room. Kirk went over to the storage closet and pulled out a pair of black pants, a light gray tee shirt and a black jacket, "She's our only hope. I want you to run a full examination on her then I'm taking her to see Khan."

McCoy nodded. He didn't like the idea but he wasn't about to argue with Kirk now. The Captain was too stubborn to listen to anyone else besides himself, "Alright have her get dressed then send her out."

Kirk nodded as he took the clothes back to the room. Mara was sitting with her legs hanging over the edge of the bed. She smiled when he walked in, "Thank you for waking me up."

"No problem, here I think these are your size. For your own interest I'm going to turn around while you dress," she shrugged and nodded. Kirk politely turned around for a moment then caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. Khan could really pick them, she was beautiful- not his type but beautiful nonetheless. She didn't seem to notice him sneaking a peek as she slipped on the tee shirt and tugged on the pants. He turned around while she grabbed the leather jacket.

Kirk turned around and she stretched her arms out, "Not bad for 329 years old if I do say so myself."

He smiled, "Not bad at all, come one I'm having you examined by our doctor to make sure everythings alright inside."

She nodded and took a step forward and collapsed. Mara looked down horrified at her failed legs as Kirk rushed to help her, "That should wear off in an hour or two. It's just your body getting used to being awake again."

Mara nodded as he scooped her up and carried her into the ICU. She blushed slightly at being so close to the blond haired bright blue eyed Captain. She kept on thinking of Khan as he set her down on the table.

A man with a blue shirt, perfectly combed brown hair, and kind brown eyes smiled at her, "Here's our little popsicle, how ya' liking being among the living again?"

Mara smiled, "It's fantastic, thank you by the way."

He shook his head, "No problem, now say ah."

For the next hour Mara laughed with the two men as she underwent a full physical. It wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be and slowly she regained the feeling in her legs. McCoy flirted with her relentlessly which made her blush.

Finally Kirk sighed, "I'll take you to see him now."

Casiousky Mara tried to stand but fell. McCoy managed to catch her as she chuckled, "I'm still a cults, thank you doctor."

McCoy smiled as helped her into a wheelchair," my pleasure. "

Kirk took the chair and gave McCoy a warning look. McCoy sighed as they left. It was hard to believe a woman like that was ever with that monster.

"I'm giving you ten minutes," Kirk said as he opened the door to the brig.

Mara looked up at him and nodded, "Thank you."

He nodded as she pushed herself into the brig. The jailor was gone and the only person in her room was a figure dressed in all black staring at the wall. Mara breath caught in her throat as she wheeled over to the glass. Khan didn't seem to notice her until Mara laid a hand in the glass.

"So this is what they decided to do with you. Why aren't you walking?" His voice was just as deep and powerful as she remembered.

Mara leaned back folding her arms across her chest, "I haven't seen you in 300 years and that's how you greet me?"

He scowled at himself and looked down, "Are they treating you fairly?"

Mara nodded, "Yes and to answer your question I'm not walking because my legs are still waking up."

"It appeared these humans are good for something," he muttered

"You seem to have forgotten I'm human," Mara sneered.

Khan shook his head, "Unfortunately so."

Mara was taken back. Being a human never bothered Khan before. He often said that he enjoyed her human ways, "What happened to you?"

"You have two eyes, use them Mara! Open your eyes and see that I am not the man you once knew," he yelled as he stood .

Mara narrowed her eyes as she forced herself to stand. Her legs wobbled and buckled but didn't collapse under her. She braced herself with one hand on the glass and looked up at him. He looked older, so much older than the last time she saw him. His eyes lost their light and his face was gaunt. It killed her to see him like this, "You are not the man I remembered. The video's were right, you're a monster."

The words hit him like a train. He stood there looking at the rage in her dark eyes. She looked so beautiful standing there. If he could Khan would have wrapped her in his arms and kiss her. He would kill to feel her soft plump lips again. Khan had to suppress those emotions, he was there for a purpose. Mara could come later, "I am doing what is necessary for our family, I wouldn't expect a human to understand."

Her heart was broken. Khan watched as Mara's face fell and she struggled to hold back tears, "You're right, I don't."

With that Mara struggled but turned and walked away. Her legs threated to give out on her with every step but she refussed to fall. When she got to the door she fell against it as tears ran down her face. The door slid open and Kirk caught her.

"Didn't go well?" He asked as he helped steady Mara.

Mara shook her head, "I want to help. Whatever it takes, I want to help."

Kirk smirked as he handed her a blue dress, "Welcome to the Enterprise."

**Welp I've been waiting for so long to post this. It was actually the first chapter I wrote for this story. I hope you lovely people enjoy it! Review, follow, and favorite!  
-Cryo **


	8. Chapter 8

Seven:

-Arizona-

Mara woke up the next morning still in Khan's shirt. She fell asleep in his bed, wrapped in his sheets desperately clinging to his smell. She stared at the alarm clock on the side of his bed. There was a picture of them lying on his night stand. The sides where he must have been holding it were crinkled. She reached out and took the picture and looked at it.

The door creaked open. Mara looked up half expecting it to be her father but a very concerned looking Abby stood there with a bag of Oreo's under her arm and two glasses of milk, "How are you Mar?"

Mara shrugged and sat up. She went to rub her eyes but hissed at the bruise that was forming on her face, "I've been better Abbs."

Abby sat on the bed next to her big sister and handed her a glass of milk. Mara looked down at the white liquid. Abby opened the bag of Oreo's and handed Mara one, "I miss Khan, he would always make breakfast for me."

Mara smiled softly as she dunked her cookie in milk, "He made the best pancakes."

"And French Toast," Abby dunked a cookie along with her sister and took a bite. She pushed a piece of her dirty blond hair behind her ear, "Mom misses him."

"That's because he would actually help at times," Mara looked around the messy room and sighed, "But he never cleaned this room."

Abby smiled, "He was too busy with his world domination stuff, and loving you."

"Oh god you knew?" Mara's cheeks flushed.

"Pf, who didn't know! For the past four years all he did was look at you when he thought you weren't looking. It was cute but creepy at the same time," Abby scoffed as she hate her third cookie.

Mara reached for another cookie and let out a long sigh as Abby put the dark gray comforter over her legs, "How pissed off is Mom?"

Abby shrugged, "I think she's more mad at you losing your virginity than it being with Khan."

"Abigail Marie Harrison, you're twelve you're not supposed to talk like that!" Mara declared with a laugh.

Abby rolled her eyes, "Yeah and you're not supposed to be sleeping with a genetically advanced guy whose what, 21?"

"22 actually, something about his ageing accelerated but apparently it's going to slow down or stop who knows," Mara leaned back and looked down at her sister. As she did she felt a wave of guilt swept over her. She was too busy parading around with Khan that she didn't take notice of her little sister. She missed out on so much. Mara pulled Abby into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry for not being there Abby," Mara whispered.

Abby smiled and hugged her sister back, "It's alright, you're here now."

"I love you Abbs," she muttered into her sister's hair.

"I love you too Maggie," she smiled at the new nickname, "Now come on, wallowing in bed doesn't suite you."

The two sister's laughed and got up. Abby was right, she needed to get out of bed.

It would take Mara two days to get out of bed. On the third day of wallowing Abby didn't come in to talk to her. Mara knew what her younger sister was doing; she was passively making her get up.

Groaning Mara left Khan's room and took a shower. She reluctantly went into her room to pull on a tee shirt and sweatpants. After she walked into the living room while she towel dried her hair. Her mother was the only person in the large room. She was sitting on the couch wrapped in her bathrobe watching the Talk.

Mara walked around the back of the couch and sat down. The Talk was something she always watched with her mother. Molly looked over at her eldest and instantly saw the yellowing, purple splotches brise on the side of her face.

Without hesitation Molly pulled Mara into a tight hug. She felt her daughter cling to her tighter than she ever had in the past ten years. Molly stroked Mara's damp hair as she cried into the sleeve of her robe.

"I know it hurts sweetie. Mamas here," Molly rocked her daughter as she stroked her hair, "Mamas here. One day the pain will stop."

"I-Im so in love with him," mara choked out

Molly nodded as Mara sat up. She noticed the papers lying on the coffee table awaiting her father's signature, "Mama what's that?"

"I'm divorcing your father," Molly muttered as she put her feet up on the coffee table. Mara smiled, she understood the gesture behind it- it was her final act of rebellion, "No one slaps my kid and get away with it, even if it is her father."

Mara smiled as she put her feet up too. She could always count on her mother. No matter what Molly Harrison was always there. Mara leaned her head on her mother's shoulder and sighed, "Good."

Khan sat in the back of a black Government SUV. John Harrison sat beside him dressed in his lab coat. The two didn't speak, there was nothing to be said. Kahn stared out the window as the car went over the George Washington Bridge. The last time Kahn was in the car alone with Harrison he was being brought to meet Mara.

It was perfect irony that the last time he would be in the car with the scientist he was being taken from Mara.

Khan could easily take over the car. He could kill all of the officers before they could reach their guns. John would be dead in moments. No he would save John for last and make him suffer.

He would make humanity suffer. They would suffer for their imbecilic ways. He would rule this world one day. He would do what the humans never could in their long arduous existence. It would be blissful and intoxicating.

"I could have you killed. I could said you were a failed and have you ended," John hissed.

Khan smirked and looked at him lazily as the car came to a stop, "One day John Harrison theist thing you see will be me."

He watched the look of terror appear on John's face. Khan smiled as two agents took his arms and lead him into a tall building. People watched the scene but didn't say anything. He was dragged into the elevator and it began it's descend into the basement.

"How many are there?" Khan's voice filled the elevator.

"72, all placed in homes like you," the agent to his left muttered.

He smirked as the doors slid open. Khan looked around the large basement. The walls were made of metal and there were crates everywhere. Kids all younger than him were sitting on the crates or lying down on the cots that lined the middle of the room. They all stopped and looked at Khan as he was lead into the room.

The two agents let go of Khan and retreated back to the elevator. Apparently, they weren't wanted among the superhumans. Khan looked around at his people. They ranged from ages of 15 to 20. No two were alike. They all stood sensing his power and position and walked over to greet their leader. Khan folded his arms over his chest examining the people in front of him.

"I am Khan, and I am your leader. From this day forward you are better than the humans. We will do what we were intended for, to bring about peace at whatever cause. We will show these humans what they made, and what we can do."


	9. Chapter 9

Eight:

Six months later Mara and Abby were sitting on the patio of a Phoenix cafe. The two girls were in a fit of laughter as they sipped their smoothies. Mara was enrolled in Harvard and was home for Christmas break. Abby just turned 13 and was eagerly questioning Mara about every aspect of college life. Their parent's divorce was finalized and Abby was still adjusting to living with one parent Monday through Thursday and another Friday through Sunday.

"Dad took it really hard but mums taking it like a champ," Abby explained as she took a sip of her banana smoothie. Abby looked so different from the last time Mara saw her. She was taller, taller than Mara even and her blond hair was longer. Her green eyes were framed with light eyeliner- probably still trying to hide it from their mother. Abby was tan like all of her friends while Mara's once constant present tan had faded from living in New England.

"Mum's always been like that, nothing holds her back and nothing gets her down," Mara adored her mother and these past six months turned out to be fantastic. Even with her being almost three thousand miles away Mara grew closer to her mother and sister. They skyped every weekend and talking daily through texting and calling.

Abby nodded as she finished her smoothie, "So how is school going? Any new friends? Any cute boys?"

Mara laughed and shook her head. Friends she had, boys- she was still trying to understand them. She spent so much time with Khan that she forgot how to act around others, "I've made a few friends and as for cute boys, I'm trying to stay away from them. But my chemistry professor is cute."

"Is he human?" Abby asked and Mara nodded, "His he married or 20 years older than you?"

"Nope," Mara laughed as she took a long sip of coffee. She tried not to drink the addictive brown substance but it was the one thing that kept her going during school, "He's a teacher's assistant but I don't really want to date right now," she shook her head and sighed, "Too soon."

"Understandable," Abby nodded and played with her straw, "So, have you heard from him?"

Mara looked down with a sad smile. She shook her head and sighed, "Nope."

Abby felt bad for her sister. While she saw Mara do a total turnaround personality wise Abby knew Mara still loved Khan. It was very evident, "I'm sorry I just thought that he may try to find you."

"No, but it's okay I'm okay," she said a little too fast. Mara was always the worst liar and Abby picked up on it instantly.

But she didn't press the issue she just nodded and leaned back, "Have you heard from dad?"

Mara nodded as she held her coffee cup in both hands, "He calls me once a week but I never pick up."

"He misses you," Abby muttered and avoided eye contact. Their father was still a hard subject for Mara to talk about.

"Thats, expected," Mara muttered as she placed her cup down and leaned back, "You wanted to get your cartilage pierced right?"

Abby arched an eyebrow and nodded. Mara smiled and stood as she grabbed her bag and motioned for Abby to follow her. The two Harrison sisters walked down the busy downtown of Phoenix side by side.

"Mara what are we doing?" Abby asked as Mara opened the door to a tattoo parlor. This was very unlike her sister, Mara despised tattoos and thought they were ridiculous. But now they were standing inside a vintage tattoo parlor with art covering the walls and a tiny fake christmas tree in the corner. The guy working the counter had various tattoos going up and down his arms, snake bites, and shaggy black hair. He looked surprised to see the two sister standing in the doorway.

Mara walked right up to him and offered him a smile, "Hi I'd like to get a tattoo and she's going to get her cartilage pierced."

Abby's eyes went wide and whispered, "Mara you don't like tattoos."

Mara shrugged, "I wanna try something new."

The guy behind the counter smiled, "Alright I'm going to need ID and you're going to have to sign for her."

"No problem!" Mara cheered as she dug through her purse for her wallet. She needed something to take her mind off Khan and everything. Tattoos was something Mara was formally opposed to but she was changing herself.

"Here you go," Mara smiled as she handed him her driver's listened and he side her the form for Abby. Abby was nearly bouncing with excitement, their mother had been promising for months that she could get it done. Once the forms were signed Mara handed him the forms and he smiled.

"Alright so Abby I'm going to have you go upstairs and to the left, Alex will pierce your ear for you. Would you like your sister," he looked at Mara to make sure he got their relation correct and she nodded, "To come with you?"

Abby shook her head, "Needles don't scare me," she pointed at Mara, "It's this one you have to worry about. Have fun Mar," Abby nearly ran off leaving the two smiling.

"So scared of needles?" He asked as he walked out from behind the counter. He was shorter than Khan and bigger. Mara could tell that he took a lot of time perfecting his muscles, especially the ones on his arms, while when it came to Khan everything was natural. He had big brown eyes that were kind and smiled down at her.

Mara nodded, "Petrified."

"Good, a needle virgin is always the best to do," he winked suggestively and Mara forced a smile, "So do you have any ideas about what you'd like?"

Mara thought for a moment about everything in her life. She could get the date of her sister's birthday somewhere. She could go for the generic chinese symbol but wanted something unique and something that resembled her, "Alright I have an idea, I want to get E=MC² here," she turned and moved her crimson sweatshirt up and pointed to her hip.

He smirked, "Alright I can do that. Lie down on your stomach but can you take your sweatshirt off?"

"Sure," She pulled her sweatshirt off and set it down next to her bag then layed down on the red leather bench.

"I'm Cole by the way," he said as he went about getting needles and ink together, "What color would you like?"

"Black. I'm Mara nice to meet you," she smiled as she felt him move the hem of her tee shirt. She felt him wipe down her skin and heard the machine turn on.

"So you go to Harvard?" Cole asked politely to make small talk.

Mara nodded as she cringed. He brought the needle down and began to make the outline, "I have to ask, why this tattoo? I'm always curious to see why people get the ink that they do."

"I love math," Mara said simply as she bit her cheek to keep herself from crying out, "It's always been a favorite of mine."

"A girl with nice legs and a brain, deadly combination," he flirted. Mara frowned but maintained a cheerful composer.

"It is isn't it?" She muttered as he began to fill it in. Abby came running down from upstairs with a smile on her face. Mara lifted her head and smiled, "Let me see."

Abby turned her head and moved a strand of hair that fell from her ponytail. The new piercing was swollen and red, "Looks good Abbs."

Abby leaned over and looked at the progress. Cole smiled at her and pointed to the 'M' he was filling in, "Looks pretty good right?"

"Yeah it does. Nice choice Mar," she saw the look of discomfort on her sister face and smirked.

"What can I say I'm amazing when it comes to ink," Cole joked as he moved on to the C.

Abby sat down in the red leather chair next to Mara and took a picture of her new piercing. She then began texting furiously, probably to the horde of friends Abby acquired. Even with being Mara Harrison's younger sister and skipping a grade Abby was popular at school. It was probably because she was their star volleyball player and was bubbly.

"So what to grab a drink sometime?" Cole asked as he finished Mara's tattoo. He covered it with a small piece of plastic wrap and pulled her shirt down.

Mara sat up and thinking about his proposal. While she wasn't ready to see people again it would be nice to go out and meet a few people. She needed to move on and become a regular member of society. Khan was gone, no matter how much it killed her to admit it, he was gone. He wouldn't like seeing her in such pain.

"Sure," she took out a piece of paper from her bag and scrawled her number down, "Text me and we can hang out sometime. I go back to school in two weeks though."

Cole smiled and tucked it into his jean pocket before ringing the girls up. He gave them a discount and his business card before the two left. It was the early evening and the two were probably being missed by their mother. Abby looked at her sister and shook her head, "I thought you weren't ready."

"I'm not," Mara shrugged, "But that doesn't mean I can't have friends."

"Yeah friends that undress you with their eyes," Abby smirked earning a shocked look from Mara.

"Remind me to wash your mouth out with soap when we get home."

After the divorce Molly moved to newly renovated warehouse in Phoenix. It was still in Abby's old school district and only ten minutes away from the hospital she was working at. Molly loved having her own space and a sense of independence that she could share with her two girls. Having Mara home from school proved to be easier than she thought. Molly was worried that Mara was going to sulk about the apartment but was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Mara spent the past two weeks socializing with her family. She drove Abby to and from school every day and often came to Molly at the hospital.

But Molly knew her daughter was still upset. Molly saw it in her eyes when she thought no one was looking. She would sometimes get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water only to see Mara lying awake on the couch looking through old family scrapbooks. Molly tried to hide them to prevent the painful memories to haunt her eldest but she knew Mara would find them, she was a genius after all.

Molly was busy making dinner when she heard the door click open. It was followed by the sound of her girls laughing and a door shutting along with shoes being kicked off. Molly Harrison wasn't a strict woman but she had one rule, no shoes on in the house.

"Mama!" Mara called her the childish nickname her whole life. Molly secretly loved it, it was the last thing she had of her little girl, "Look what Abby and I did!"

Molly groaned but forced a smile as she walked out of the kitchen. Mara had her back to her and tee shirt pulled up exposing a tattoo. Abby was pointing to her new earring and smiling like an idiot.

"Well I'll be damned," Molly laughed as Mara let her shirt fall and turned with a big smile. It was moments like this that Molly appreciated the differences between the two girls. Mara was small, with dark hair and didn't put much effort into her appearance. It was a rarity that she wore any makeup besides mascara while Abby who just discovered makeup knew what to do. Abby was bright and cheery while Mara was different and logical.

"Mara got hit on by the tattoo artist," Abby gushed as she sat down at the island.

Mara shot her sister a look while she helped her mother finished up dinner. Vegetarian lasagna, Mara needed to get used to the menu since both her mother and sister gave up meat.

Molly shot her daughter a look and smiled, "Is he cute?"

"Yeah he's good looking, has a lot of tattoo's and piercings. But I'd like to be friends before I just dive head first into anything you know?" Mara explained as she got down palates.

Molly shook her head and smiled. Mara was so much like her father, always analyzing things even when she didn't realize she was, "So are you guys going to go out anytime soon?"

Mara shrugged, "Maybe," the three Harrison women sat down at the island and began eating. Molly looked at her two girls sitting in either side of her and smiled. She was thankful to have them both.

**Okay I will be doing a few of these chapters as fillers and to show how Mara and Khan act when they aren't together. Review, follow, favorite! Thank you all to have been following this you guys are amazing!**


	10. Chapter 10

Nine:

"Harder."

"But-but-"

"I said HARDER!" Khan shouted at one of the boys. It had been a year since he last saw Mara. A year since he felt her gentle touch. A year since he saw the light of day. A year living in this basement.

Khan wasn't impressed with the group of superhumans he was given. They were weak emotionally and physically. They held too much to their human traits and the human surrogate parents that raised them while Khan gave up on his human side. He didn't care about human emotion anymore. Everything he loved and cared about was taken from him and he intended to return the favor.

The boy he was trying to teach how to fight was just shy of 18. He was shorter than Khan with platinum blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. He looked scared of his leader and refused to punch him.

Khan grabbed the runt by the collar and dragged him up to his height, "When I tell you to do something you do it without asking questions, runt."

Khan shoved the runt to the ground and walked away only to sit on one of the many crates. He took out his copy of _The Art of War_ and began reading. He hated being locked up here. Even though they had soft bed and go food delivered regularly the basement was a gilded cage. He looked down at his strikingly pale hand and realized how much he missed the sun. Groaning Khan leaned his head back resting it against of the crates as he allowed himself to think for a moment.

He thought about the sun. How it used to soak into his skin in the summers when he and Mara would go hiking or lay in the back yard. Imagines of Mara sprawled out on the grass listening to classical music in her bathing suite flashed through his mind. She would give him glares every time he blocked 'her sun' then she would pull him down so he was lying next to her. They would often stay like that, all day just lying under the sun side by side talking about everything they wanted in life.

The memory was weakness to him. It was an unneeded weakness. He had to focus on what he was there for, to train the runts so they could take their place as the rulers of this world.

"You seem preoccupied today," a voice cooed.

"Mm," Khan muttered as he opened his eyes and forced himself to read. Reading was one of the only things that kept him sane.

One of the females, Azlyn, sat down next to him. For the past year she clung to Khan and threatened to fight off anyone who dared come near him. He gave her a once over and went back to reading, "Did they forget to bring you propor clothes?"

She looked down at her long tee shirt. It was of his, one that she stole in the hopes that he would demand she take it off. She leaned in closer and looked down at the book he was reading while she played with a strand of her long red hair, "Why do you waist your time with such boring activities when you can be doing something much more, entertaining."

For the past year Azlyn tried relentlessly to get in into bed with her. Most of the females in the group saw Khan as a prize. They were all in competition for his affection, so far none of them were winning. He had no time for 'mates' or anything like that.

"I know the entertainment you are talking about and I am not interested in such things," Khan muttered as he turned a page. Azlyn took the book from his hands and began to flip thought.

Khan let out a long irritated sigh as she opened to the page where Mara inscribed something, "Oh what's this?" Azlyn cooed. Khan reached for the book but she turned to the side and began to read, "'Happy Twentieth Birthday. You're always talking about how no one knows how to properly handle a war. But hopefully you can get some ideas how to be a good ruler one day and how to handle your people from this. Happy Birthday love-"

He snatched the book from her hands and stood dragging Azlyn up with him. Khan grabbed her wrist nearly breaking it but didn't care, "You will not touch my things and the next time I catch you touching this I will not hesitate to snap your neck in front of the others to make an example of you. You are not special to me, you never will be even if you aren't the head of the women. Now leave me unless you wish to have a bone broken."

Azlyn's dark golden brown eyes were petrified. She was shaking and looked as if she was about to collapse. But she nodded slowly, "Yes Khan."

He shoved her to the side making her fall off the crate. He stepped off and walked towards the middle of a group that gathered around to watch the scene, "I will NOT allow disobedience," he pointed over at Azlyn, "Let that be an example, if anyone steps out of line I will not hesitate to put them back in their place. We have been made for one purpose only, to rule over the humans. If we allow ourselves to be sidetracked then we will be no better than those half wit humans."

The other superhumans nodded and went about their duties. Khan walked over to the small laptop they had to share and grabbed it. He walked over to his cot and began typing furiously. He looked over the files that the Government had on them then proceed to switch over to the internet. He pulled up facebook then began to type in Mara's name.

Her profile was the first one to come up . He made a habit of checking it every month or so to see what she was doing. Her profile pictures changed, it was now a picture of or and Abby smiling and holding giant ice cream cones. He scowled down and looked at her information.

_Occupation: Teacher's Assistant at Andover Prep School_

_University: Harvard University _

_Location: Phoenix, Arizona _

_Relationship status: Single _

Khan smirked knowing he wasn't replaced just yet. After looking around for a few minutes to make sure no one was watching him he began to scroll through her pictures. Mara looked the same yet so different. She was paler than he last remembered her to be, her hair was longer, and her eyes seemed sad. A lot of the pictures were of her and Abby at various places. Some were just of Mara making funny faces, some had other girls he didn't know in them. One thought stuck Khan the most; Mara was leaning in close with a guy who had pierced lips and tattoos. They were sharing a milkshake and sipping out of two red stars like couples would in the 50's. A primal growl escaped his throat as he slammed the laptop shut and leaned against the wall.

"Human troubles?"A voice asked. Khan looked up at Alec, his second in command. He was tall and muscular with coffee colored skin. His hair was short and had bright hazel eyes.

Khan nodded, "The human again?" He nodded again.

"Mate it's been a year you can't keep harping on it. We're stuck here," Alec said as he sat down on the cot across from Khan.

"You're right," his deep voice muttered, "We have to make plans, these humans are becoming a pest."

Alec smirked and nodded. While Khan was the alpha of the group Alec did the leg work. Khan was the genius behind everything and Alec knew better than to try to challenge his leader, "So what does the great Khan Noonien Singh have planned."

Khan smirked evilly. He had so many ideas, so many plans that they could do. He sat up resting his elbows on his knees and placed his chin between his thumb and index finger, "We will do what they made us for, we will bring about peace," he smirked wickedly, "At all costs and we will be sure to get rid of the humans who have oppressed us."

"When do we start?" Alec smirked. He felt the urge to fight flow through his veins.

Khan looked over at the doors as they slid open. A new agent, a female one, who looked nervous walked in with bags of food. He and Alec smirked, "We go for the weakest link and work our way out."

**Two updates in a day, wow I love you guys! Ah Khan's evil is showing! Review, favorite, and follow.**

**-Cryo**


	11. Chapter 11

Ten:

In the past four years John Harrison's life went to hell.

While his professional career was never better his personal life was less than perfect. The divorce left him with an empty house and two daughters that hated him. Abby went with him for half the week but hardly talked to him. He called Mara on a nearly weekly basis but she never answered. He tried talking to Molly but she was curt and didn't show the slightest interest in talking to him.

So John took to drinking.

It was the only thing that kept him going. Knowing that even though he was going to have an awful day at work and lost his family he knew a hard drink was always waiting for him. It would welcome him with open arms and allow him to drown his sorrows in vodka and gin.

Every night he would come home from work and stand in the room he hit Mara in. In one hand would be a bottle of vodka, in the other was the last family photo with Khan cut out. Tonight was no exception.

John stood in the doorway looking at the spot. He could still see the hate in her eyes when he struck her. It was the same hate that Molly had in her eyes when she handed him their divorce papers.

He took a swig and scowled. The vodka burnt his throat but reminded him that he was alive. At work he was constantly reminded what he did. He created the person that he hated the most. It was also the person that his daughter loved the most.

Another swig.

John left the room and slammed the door shut. He stumbled back into the living room and slumped down on the couch. He put his feet up on the coffee table next to the Chinese take away and turned on the television.

Another swig.

He looked over at a picture of him and Mara. It was her fifth birthday, the theme was princess. She was dressed in a pink dress with a tiara on her head, smiling like it was the best day of her life, while she held a fairy wand. He was crouching next to her smiling at the camera. John remembered the day, it was warm out and everyone was dying in the heat. Molly was just beginning her pregnancy and was going through awful morning sickness.

John took the picture and looked down at it. It was a sad reminder of the life he used to have.

Another swig.

John Harrison missed his family. He missed coming home to Mara and Abby eager to see them. He missed being his daughter's heros. He missed coming home to Molly's cooking and knowing he had a wife to come home to. At work John was fine, he was always professional and never brought up his personal life. Even when his colleagues asked how Mara was doing at Harvard he would force a smile and say she was liking it.

Another swig.

John focused on the television when he heard the door open. He looked up as he saw Mara walked through the door.

Mara stopped when she saw her father. Her mother made her come and say hello for the first time in four years. She stood there for a moment looking at him in shock. Her father's always clean shaven face had a thin set of stubble lining his jaw and connecting to his side burns. His clothes were wrinkled and a mess. Under his glasses were the dark green eyes they shared but his had dark bags under his eyes. The house reeked of alcohol.

"Margrete," John said simply.

Mara shifted awkwardly and looked over her shoulder at the car. Molly motioned for her daughter to go in and make amends. She moved inside and shut the door.

"So you've resorted to drinking yourself to death?" Mara asked as she shifted from foot to foot.

Another swig.

"Why should you care, hell I haven't seen you in four years," John muttered. He tried to keep his speech from slurring.

"Trust me this wasn't my idea it was mom's," Mara muttered as she folded her arms over her chest.

John snorted, "What does she want? To get full custody of Abby?"

"If I was mom I would. Look at this place, there's bottles everywhere, you can't even see the coffee table, and it smells like liquor," Mara hated seeing her childhood home like this, "But she thought it was about time we talked again."

He laughed, "You haven't made an attempt to talk to me in four years what makes you think I'll talk to you now."

"Because you call me every week and always leave a voicemail. Granted you're drunk half the time but still, you must care," Mara muttered.

Another swig.

"Have you heard from the freak?" John asked as Mara moved a foot into the house.

She cringed knowing that once they started talking about Khan things were going to be bad. But she also felt her heart strings being tugged. The last time she said his name was when she told Cole about him. THe two spent the night gushing about their boy troubles. But it still hurt knowing that he was out there somewhere and didn't bother to find her, "No I haven't."

"Good, the freak is nothing but trouble," John lost contact with Khan and his people the day he dropped him off. He could be dead and John didn't care.

Mara shook her head, "I don't think you're in any position to talk about anyone like that."

"How dare you!" John shouted as he stood.

Another swig.

"I-I am your father and you-you will show me respect," he slurred.

Mara rolled her eyes and gestured at the coffee table, "You're a drunk! Maybe if you put down the booze for a minute and talk to me I'd have more respect for you!"

Another swig.

"You-your in my house y-young lady," he took a step towards her but collided with the coffee table and nearly fell.

Mara shook her head and looked down, "You were my best friend at one point dad. But I'll be damned if I sit and watch this. You brought this on yourself and I can never forgive you for sending Khan away. But I can do this," she snatched the bottle out of her father's hands and ran to the kitchen. She desperately tried to pour out all the liquor before he made it into the kitchen.

But John was faster than she thought. He caught her wrist in his hand and began to squeeze, "If it wasn't for you and your infatuation-with that freak I wou-would have my family."

Mara started to panic as he squeezed harder, "Dad I am your family please let go."

He squeezed harder as he began to sob. He saw the panic in his daughter's eyes as he held onto her wrist. He was clutching it so hard that her hand was starting to turn color.

_Please let go. _

He let of and put his head in his hands and began to sob. Out of fear Mara turned and ran but paused when she got to the door. She turned and watched her father sob over the kitchen sink. She wasn't sure if it was because of what just happened or the spilled liquor. But Mara didn't wait to find out.

John watched his daughter run out to her mother's SUV. He watched her get in and put her head in her hands. He watched Molly's expression change as she examined Mara's wrist. There was no doubt that he fractured it. John Harrison watched the SUV pull away.

Next week his joined custody of Abby was revoked.

Mara didn't go to the custody hearing, instead she went out to a movie with Cole. She couldn't handle her life at times and Cole was always there to cheer her up. When he pulled his car up to the apartment Mara eagerly jumped in. Cole looked at her wrist and noticed the horrible bruising under the bandage.

"Saw your dad?" Cole asked as he pulled out of the parking spot.

Mara nodded, "Mom thought it would be a good idea for us to, clear the air. Turns out he's a drunk and wallows in that house after work. I'm just glad Abby doesn't have to go there anymore."

Cole nodded, "Congrats on graduating. So what's next, doctorate?"

Mara smiled, "Yep, Doctor Mara Harrison. How are things with Matt?"

A small blush creeped onto Coles cheeks, "They're great actually. But I'm concerned about you. It's been awhile since you've been on a date. Still in love with Khan?"

Mara looked out the window and shrugged, "In a way."

Cole shook his head, "Mara Harrison you're a helpless romantic, don't ever change."

"I'll try not to."


	12. Chapter 12

Eleven:

Khan sat in his office chair reading _The Prince_ while his family went about their daily routines. After months of careful planning and hacking into the government systems today was the day. It was the day they were going to get out of the metal hell hole.

"Sir everything is ready," Alec said as he showed Khan the laptop screen. He had successfully hacked into the camera's throughout the building they were being house in and shut them off. The could slip out without anyone noticing, all they had to do was kill the guards.

"Good," he stood and threw the book to the side as the elevator door slid open. For the past five years they had the same agent. A short stocky woman with dyed black hair and brown eyes. For the past five years Khan worked his way closer to her. It was easy give his good looks and charming nature and her extremely simple mind.

Khan smiled as he walked over to the agents and took the bags from her hands, "Pleasure to see you again Gillian."

Gillian blushed and smiled, "It's always nice to see you too Khan."

Khan looked at Alec briefly as he lead Gillian over to their sitting area. Alec nodded and began to disable the elevator. Khan smiled down at the extremly plain looking agent. They sat down across from each other and Khan leaned back.

"How are you today Gillian," Khan spoke slowly so she could get wrapped up in his voice.

"Quite well thank you," she smiled as she looked around the basement, "I don't know why they keep you in here it's so dark and dismal."

Khan saw Alec give the signal out of the corner of his eyes and smirked, "Yes it is dark isn't it," he stood and walked over to her. Gillian looked up eagerly expecting a token of affection that he occasionally gave her. Khan leaned down resting his hands on the arms of her chair and let his mouth hover next to her ear. Gillian could feel his breath against her neck. It sent chills down her spine- she loved it.

Khan knew he had the agent in the palm of his hand. He smirked as he began to speak very slowly so she could hold onto each word- it would be the last she'd hear, "You know what the best thing about the dark is?"

She shook her head as her eyes slid shut. Khan smirked, "You can't see."

Gillian's eyes snapped open but it was too late. Khan grabbed both sides of her head and snapped her neck killing her instantly. Her body fell to the ground at Khan feet and he smirked.

"Sir the elevator is ready for us," Alec said as he looked down at the body, "We have twenty minutes to get out before they realize something's wrong."

Khan nodded as his family gathered around. He stood tall and proud, their leader, "Today is the day we stop being prisoners to those inferior humans. Grab a bag and a gun, get into the elevator and go into the city. The team with Alzyn, you're going to go to Boston the Secretary of State is there- kill him. Alec's team you're going to Newport where the Vice President is vacationing- kill him and his staff. The few I've chosen to go with me, come. We have a president to kill."

The groups shoved into the elevator and made their ascend. Khan went first with his small group behind him. They made it to the surface in twenty seconds where they were met with a few agents.

Khan took out his pistol that Gillian smuggled him and shot both agents square in the head. Neither had any time to react before they were gunned down. Khan smirked as he walked over their cold corpses. He took out a pair of sunglasses and slipped them on while he pulled his hood up. The group left the building with ease and stepped out into the busy streets of New York.

They made their way down to Grand Central Station where Khan had no trouble buying tickets. He stole Gillian's credit card months ago. Humans were easy to manipulate when they believed someone cared for them. Manipulating humans was childs play.

Twenty minutes later Khan was sitting on a train headed for Phoenix that made a stop in Washington DC. He sat in the outside seat leaning his elbow on the arm rest with his palm in his hand.

They would be in Washington in less than 5 hours. It was their day, their day to rise and show the humans that it was their greatest mistake in treating them like second class citizens. Khan smirked as he looked out the window as the city raced passed the train window.

_Promise me you're not going to do anything. Promise me you're not going to hurt anyone._

Mara's voice constantly haunted his dreams and thoughts. For five years every time he thought about crushing someone's skull her voice echoed in his head. He scowled, this was necessary, it was their time to rise.

"Oh sorry!" Khan's elbow was knocked off the arm rest.

He glared up a young woman in a gray tee shirt, with long dark curls, dark green eyes, and holding two coffee cups. Those eyes, they haunted his dream. She looked at her arm as coffee dripped down it then glanced over at his lap, "Oh good I didn't get any on you."

It was Mara.

She was grown up, now in her early twenties with slightly paler skin. Her hair was tied back in a low loose ponytail, she smelt differently like books and green tea.

But she didn't recognize him. He changed in the past five years, he grew taller, paler, stronger, and his cheeks became more defined. The glasses covering his eyes didn't help either.

She gave him a confused look and shifted awkwardly, "Well since you're alright I'll be off."

With that she was gone.

Khan watched her walk back to her seat. He gripped his arm rest until it broke. It was his opportunity to see her again, after all these years. The train continued through until it reached it's first destination. Khan stood and watched as his group leave the train. Before he left he looked down at the compartment where Mara was sitting. He saw her foot dangling in the isle but made himself look away.

She could wait, he had a president to kill.

**Horribly short I know :/  
Sorry guys I've been busy today- job hunting and all- and wrote this one quickly. Next few should be a bit longer.  
-Cryo **


	13. Chapter 13

Twelve:

Abby Harrison was sitting in history when she got the news.

It was her favorite class and her teacher adored her. Most of the teacher's Abby had loved both her and her sister- none mentioned Khan. She was hunched over her notes furiously recording every word the teacher spoke. Her handwriting was almost as messy as Mara's but her sister's was still worse. She had a week until graduation then she would be heading to Columbia for college. It would be nice to get away from Phoenix but she was going to miss the sun. She watched how pale Mara got when she went to Harvard but still, it would be nice to get away from the bad memories.

Life seemed to fall in place for Abby. With her father being out of her life the constant stress of having to go there was lifted. Mara came home a lot and seemed to be happy with school and her life. Cole was always at the house when Mara was, they were best friends. It took Molly a few times to warm up to him with his tattoos and piercings but soon she grew to adore the boy. Even her relationship with her mother got better.

School got better too. Abby rose from fourth in her class to first and was put onto a year round volleyball team. Her friends came to all the games to support her and Mara came when she could.

Things were finally where she wanted them. She had her mother finally realizing that she could do things on her own and didn't need her father. Mara was finally the sister she wanted. She counted on Mara for everything. When she was home Mara was constantly bringing her places and doing things with her. Abby was to the point where she could say she was proud to have Mara Harrison as her older sister.

Everything was together until she got the call.

It was between classes when Abby Harrison felt her phone go off in her pocket. Naturally she ignored it and continued to take her books out of her locker and stuff them into her bag. The phone stopped vibrating for a moment before starting it's annoying pattern again.

Muttering bitterly under her breath Abby took out her phone and checked the screen. It was her mother, someone who barely even texted her in school. Abby arched an eyebrow as she slid her finger across the touchpad and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Mum I'm at school," Abby started but was cut off by the sound of her mother's sobs, "Mom what's wrong?"

"The-the president- he-he's been killed. So-so has the Vice President and the Secretary of State. Abby I'm coming to pick you up right now I just got-got Mara from the train station. I'm sending her into g-get you," the line clicked off before Abby could say anything.

Abby looked around at her classmates passing by. They were laughing and smiling, no one knew yet. Abby clutched her phone while she struggled to lock her locker. Her hand was shaking as she held the lock for a moment.

Suddenly she heard one of the teachers screams. Abby shut her eyes and for the first time in her life said a prayer. She prayed for the families that lost their parents today, for the people in Washington who were getting scared, and for the country in the days to come. There had been Presidential assassinations in the past, but no one wiped out the top three people in the country before.

Phones began to ring. People were starting to get the news from their parents or from alerts they set. Students began to run to each other looking for comfort or they were running to teachers to ask if it was a false alarm. Abby's math teacher, a woman who rarely showed emotion, was crying in the arms of the PE teacher.

A few girls knocked into Abby as she tried to walk towards the doors. People were rushing past her screaming and crying. So many things were uncertain.

"I can't call my father!" One of the foreign exchange students from Canada screamed.

"The internet's down!" A teacher yelled.

"Abby, Abigail Grace Harrison!" Mara's voice screamed through the crowd of people. Abby looked up as she saw her sister desperately shoving through hysterical high school students.

Abby felt Mara latch onto her hand and began to pull her back through the crowd. Abby watched as Mara elbowed people and shoved some aside until they got to the doors of the school. Mara threw the door open and nearly dragged Abby towards the parking lot.

"What's going on Mar?" Abby asked. Her voice cracked as Mara let go of her hand.

Mara shook her head, "I...I don't know. I was getting off the train when I got the news."

They wove through the cars looking for their mother's blue Civic. Abby stopped, "Mara, no one can access the internet or anyone outside the country. What's going on?"

Mara stopped and turned, "I don't know Abby."

"Mara I'm scared," Abby whispered as she and Mara began walking towards the car.

"I am too Abbs," she muttered as she squeezed her sister's hand.

"Hey what's going on?" Cole asked as he kicked off his shoes and walked into the living room.

The three Harrison women were crowded around the telly with their eyes glued to the screen. Mara motioned for Cole to sit down. She had dark bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and was dressed in the same clothes she wore on the train. Cole sunk onto the couch next to Mara and Abby. He let Abby rest her legs on his lap and he rested his arm on the back of the couch.

"We can't get the news, it's just cartoons and static," Molly explained as she flipped through the channels again, "I can't even use the phone!"

Mara took out her mobile but it was useless. She couldn't get onto the internet and she could barely send a text.

"What are we going to do?" Abby whispered. She had been crying for the past two hours.

Cole patted her leg and gave her a sad smile, "We'll figure something out Abbs."

Mara sat there watching her mother and sister in a frantic state for the past two hours. Molly's hands were shaking and her knuckles were turning white from gripping the remote so hard. Abby's green eyes were red and puffy from crying so much. They were both so scared.

Suddenly Mara stood and grabbed her black windbreaker, "I'll be back, Cole can I borrow your car?"

Cole stood, "I'm coming with you there's no way you're going out by yourself."

Molly looked up with fearful eyes, "Mara please don't go."

"Mama I have to, I'll be back in an hour but we need answers," she kissed her mother's and Abby's heads then took off towards the door. She and Cole pulled on their shoes and left the apartment.

Cole struggled to keep up with Mara in the parking lot. She had his keys dangling in her hand and took long strides, "Mara wait up!"

Mara didn't slow down until she was pulling herself into his black SUV. Cole jumped into the passenger's seat as Mara turned on the car, "I'm going to the only person I know who can give us answers."

She peeled out of the parking spot and took off spreading through the street's of Phoenix. For once Mara didn't care about driving safely, the police would have their hands full with confused citizens. Cole held onto the door for dear life as Mara took a turn a little too hard.

"Hey watch the paint I just got it done!" Cole shouted as he shot her an annoyed look, "Where are you taking us?"

"Cary Military Experimental Base," Mara muttered as they left the city.

Cole's eyes widened as she hit 90 with the SUV, "You've gotta be kidding me! Mara, that's a _**military**_ base! We can't get in there!"

She turned down a deserted road as her grip on the wheel tightened, "I grew up around the guards and the commander of the base, they'll let us in."

Cole scowled but nodded, "Who are you going to see?"

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a moment, "My father."

Cole knew the history between Mara and her father. In the first few months of their friendship she vented to him about everything that happened between her and her father, granted she was drunk, but Cole knew she hated the man.

"Why do I have a feeling this is going to end horribly?" Cole asked as they pulled up to a tall gate. He could see the long gray government building with camouflage hummers driving around. They pulled up the security station and Mara took out her ID.

She rolled down the window as a young looking guard eyed the odd pair, "Can I help you?"

"Hi I'm Margaret Harrison I'm here to see my father Dr. John Harrison," Mara put on a sweet smile and flashed her ID.

He checked her ID then nodded. The gate opened and Mara slowly entered the base. She pulled around to the back where she knew her father's office was and parked next to his car.

She and Cole got out of the car and made their way into the building. Mara still clutched Cole's keys as a guard let them in. Luckily Mara looked too much like her father for anyone to bother them, especially today. They made their way down to the large all white lab her father worked in and threw the door open.

John Harrison looked up and dropped the beaker he was holding, "Mara why are you here?"

"What's going on outside dad?" Mara sounded desperate.

"W-what do you mean?" JOhn asked. He hadn't left his lab in three days, he was beginning to think he forgot what outside looked like. Mara grabbed his hand and dragged him outside into the Arizona desert.

John squinted at the light as Mara took out her mobile and tried to access the internet. He watched as Mara failed three times then tried to get on her facebook profile, it was down. She dialed a friend in England but the call failed too, "Someone shut down the internet and any communication going outside the states. The President, Vice President, and Secretary of States have been killed."

John turned white as he took a step back and shook his head, "I-I didn't know."

"How couldn't you know!? You work for the military!" Mara snapped.

Cole shifted awkwardly as he watched the two. John shook his head and ran a hand through his graying hair. He opened his mouth to say something as a loud noise ripped through the base. They looked up as they saw a white plane hurtling towards the ground. They stood there in awe as the plane nose dived into the Arizona desert only a mile away. The explosion threatened to knock them off their feet as they staggered a bit.

Mara stared wide eyed at her father. John saw the same fear in her eyes she had the night Khan was ripped from her. He stood there and watched as his commander came running over to them.

"Get your asses to safety, we've entered World War III."

**I like how I started this chapter but the ending doesn't feel right, tell me what you guys think!**

**-Cryo**


	14. Chapter 14

Thirteen:

"What do you mean World War III?" Mara asked as she stared at the aging commander.

He motioned for the group to follow him as he turned and walked back into the building. The small group made their way through hall after hall until they came to a large conference room. Inside major officials in the base were sitting around a large table focused on the TV.

The Commander sat down while the trio stood in a corner. Mara folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall between her father and Cole. The screen was full of static. One of the nurses that worked with her father slapped the TV a few times.

Suddenly a picture of a man with pale skin and striking blue eyes appeared on the screen. He was sitting in the oval office smirking as he sat facing the camera, "Welcome to the new era of this country."

Mara's jaw suddenly dropped. She knew that face, those eyes, those cheekbones, and that voice. It was a face she hadn't seen in five years, "Khan," her voice was barely above a whisper.

"In less than 24 hours we have taken over this pathetic country. Funny isn't it? Your government kept us locked up for five, almost six, years and here we are," he spread his arms out and laughed, "in the flesh, "But we will not be treating you with such savagery. No we will show you humans how to properly run something. You will not be able to leave the country though, and say bye bye to the internet. While we will be peacefully and just I can't have you getting ideas to flee," Khan leaned forward dropping his arms and smirked, "Welcome to the new United States of America."

The message ended and the TV went black. The commander's face was white, along with John's and Maras. Slowly the Commander turned and face John rage billowing in his dark eyes, "Harrison, you're fired."

"But sir-" John started but was cut off by the Commander's booming voice.

"Your people were guarding them, and look what happened! World War II! Total goble isolation, under your nose!" He yelled then scowled pinching the bridge of his nose, "get out Harrison."

Again John Harrison's world was being brought to an end at the hands of Khan. He turned and abruptly walked out of the room leaving Mara and Cole standing there. Cole shook his head and gently tugged on Mara. She nodded and allowed him to lead her back to the SUV. She even let him drive.

Mara sat looking at the desert. Khan was alive, and was the leader of a super human group that was responsible for everything. They killed the president, shut everything down, isolated everyone in the country. He wasn't the person she loved, he was a monster no better than her father used to describe him. It tour at her heart knowing how much pain he went through since their parting. She felt tears welling in her eyes but refused to cry.

In the past five years she shed too many tears for Khan.

When they got back to her mother's apartment Mara got out of the car without saying anything. Cole climbed out and followed Mara back up the apartment. She opened the door and kicked off her shoes. Molly and Abby were glued to the TV watching Khan's message play. When they heard the door open they stood and saw the look on Mara's face. Her eyes were dark and she was paler than normal.

"Is it him?" Molly asked.

Mara shut her eyes but nodded.

A year went by. Abby graduated from highschool and Mara got her doctorate. She was now the third Dr. Harrison in her family and wore the title proud. Abby was going to Columbia to study political science, one of the only studies that were permitted.

But things were not the way they should be. People were given rations each week, sometimes it was enough but that was rare. The other countries started to get nervous, they armed themselves with any sort of weapon they could. Rumor spread across the country that the superhumans and their leader took over the continent. No one doubted them, if they could shut down a grid in less than 24 hours then they could take over a continent.

There were curfew mandated by each city under the Leader's code. If you were caught outside after curfew you were hauled off to jail, and sometimes never heard from again. Each city was considered it's own entity and rarely had anything to do with the surrounding areas. Crime was low, while there were groups that went out and tried to challenge the Leader's authority they were shut down quickly and never heard from again.

People were moved around the country to disperse the population. Luckily Molly got to stay in Phoenix with her daughters. Mara and Abby were granted travel permits to go to and from school. Mara was bitter about the whole thing but never talked about it.

As for John Harrison, he was relocated to Montana where he worked on a farm. He had no doubt that it was Khan's personal doing but hoped it was his last revenge. THe loss of his job was enough to handle but being forced to move was pushing him over the edge. He wouldn't 'bump' into Molly at the store from time to time and couldn't see the girls. While Mara and Abby still weren't talking to him John made it a weekly activity to drive by the apartment when he knew they were home from school.

His drinking got worse.

Just like everyone else in the country John Harrison was a prisoner.

While the world went to hell in two years Abby Harrison moved against the current. Most people went along with the changes either because they were afraid or because they wanted to. But Abby wasn't one for going with anything when it came to the new regime. Unfortunately she inherited her sister's rebellious and hard headed nature and under Khan's strong hold it got worse.

So Abby took to protesting. She and a group of friends from school would wear black masks and go out smashing the windows of Khan's capital. They moved the capital from Washington to New York for some strategic reason. Abby didn't care though, all she cared about was being able to stand up to the dictator in whatever way she could. She tagged buildings and put up anti-Khan posters all around the city.

Luckily for Abby no one believed it was her. Mara told her sister that she heard about the group all the way in Phoenix but never asked if it was her. Abby was pleased with herself, for the first time in her life she had a secrete.

But that all changed on July 7th. It was the two year anniversary of Khan taking over which meant Abby and her group were going to have a busy night. Once classes were over Abby met her group like she always did on the upper west side. She didn't know their names, they made a pact never to tell their full names incase one got captured they wouldn't be able to rat out the whole group. She was dressed in all black like the rest of them and hand a bag strung over her shoulder. Her blond hair hung in a long braid over her shoulder, it was the only thing peaking out from her black hood.

Their leader, a man about five years older than Abby, stood with a crowbar in one hand and a can of spray paint in the other. Abby smiled up at him as she took in his brilliant gray eyes. For the past two years Abby was in love with him. He looked at the group gathered in the courtyard and smirked, "Tonights the night boys and girls. There's a gala at the Guggenheim, Khan will be there. That's all I'm telling you, go have fun my pets."

The group disbanded and took off running. Abby smirked and headed off towards the subway. Khan had the trains turned off by eleven to avoid people trying to smuggle themselves out of the city. But the tunnels were open, and Abby knew them like the back of her hand.

She wove her way through the tunnels until she found her exit. Abby threw her bag onto the platform them hoisted herself up. Once standing Abby took out her black ski mask and pulled it over her head. She carefully tucked her braid under the back of the mask so no hair would escape. Tonight would be big and having her eyes showing was dangerous enough.

Abby swung the bag over her shoulder and started up the steps towards the museum. She visited it with Mara the one time she was able to drag her sister into the city and knew it pretty well. Music was echoing from the white building as Abby approached. Others from her group were closing in holding their weapons of choice. Their leader fell into step with Abby and she felt him slide something into her bag.

"A present for later," he whispered and winked at her. Abby didn't question him but smiled and nodded. She knew what it was, it was gun.

They approached the building and saw Khan and his group mingling with human's they deemed important. Khan was dressed in a tailored black suit with a white shirt underneath. He looked just as she remembered but darker. In one hand was a glass of champagne, the other was wrapped around the waist of a red head with bright gold eyes. She was dressed in an all too form fitting long pink dress and was leaning on him as if she worshiped him. Khan looked utterly unamused as he sipped his champagne.

Abby pulled her eyes away from the scene and turned to her leader. He smiled and nodded then gave the signal for everyone to attack. People began smashing the doors with their crowbars, they tagged the buildings and began to flood into the gala.

"Come on," the leader smirked as he grabbed Abby's amr and pulled her into the museum. He began to smash paintings and other artworks as Abby stood there for a moment locked in an intense gaze with Khan. Suddenly there was a scream and a body dressed in all black fell from the top levels.

Abby gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. It was a girl she went to school with, her mask was torn off and her neck was broken. She stared up at Abby with wide scared eyes and held a hand out to her.

"H-Ar-" she was cut off by the red head driving her heel into the girls skull.

Abby screamed and jumped back. The redhead took her foot out of the girls skull and scowled, "What a drag, I loved these shoes."

Khan now had his attention on Abby. Their leader stood between him and the youngest Harrison sister as screams erupted from the building. Her group was being killed, one by one their bodies dropped from the various levels.

Khan took a step forward with one hand tucked into the pocket of his trousers while he held his glass of champagne. He shook his head and smirked, "You really thought this was going to work?"

Abby began frantically fishing through her bag for the gun. Khan took a step forward looking at his glass with an evil smirk, "People should fear glass more, it can be deadly in the right hands."

With that he broke the glass and took on the shards then sliced her leader's throat. Abby screamed and jumped back then took out her gun pointing it at Khan's chest. Her hands were trembling as a pool of blood formed between the two, "I-I'll shoot."

Khan smirked as he held out his hands, "Go ahead, try."

Abby shut her eyes and pulled the trigger. She heard the gunfire and the bullet lodge itself in Khan. Slowly she opened her eyes only to see him standing there smirking. The bullet lodged itself in his shoulder.

His smirk was the last thing Abby saw before she was knocked unconscious.

**This was one of my favorite chapters to write. I hope you guys liked it!**


	15. Chapter 15

Fourteen:

Abby woke up in a cell. She groaned and sat up, her back was stiff and her head was throbbing. With a shaking hand she went to pull off her mask but only felt her bare skin. Panicking Abby looked around and saw none of her things were there. She felt her face again with the foolish hope that the mask would be there but it wasn't.

She pushed herself to her feet and looked around. She was in an old cell with bars and a bed attached to the wall. Taking a hesitant step forward Abby gripped the cold bars and looked around.

She was the only one in the cell.

Everyone else must have been killed or got away. The real panic set in as Abby felt for her phone. She hid it in her bra the night of the attack in case something like this happened. Luckily the device was still there. With shaking fingers Abby unlocked it and walked into the corner where she could get service.

The phone was almost dead but she had just enough to call someone. She could call her mother but Molly wouldn't know what to do. Her father wasn't an option, she hadn't talked to him in months. Sighing Abby dialed the only person who could help.

The phone rang a few time before Mara picked up, "Hey Abbs-"

"M-mara I. I did something bad," Abby choked. She checked to make sure no one was watching.

"Abby listen to me what's going on?" Mara sounded frantic.

"I-I'm in trouble. They-they got me please Mara it's-"

The phone shut off. Abby looked down at the flashing battery as the door slammed open. The redhead from the gala stood there smirking dressed in all black, "Aw is our little dove scared?"

Abby pressed her back to the wall and began to shake, "S-stay back."

The woman smirked and grabbed her arm roughly dragging her out of the cell. She grabbed the back of Abby's head and shoved her up the stairs. Abby looked around at the posh penthouse as they walked into a study. Cases filled with books and national treasures lined the walls and a huge desk sat in the middle of the room. Khan was leaning against it arms folded over his chest and smirking.

Abby was shoved roughly to her knees. She stared down at the floor letting her blond hair hang around her head. She prayed that he didn't recognize her. This was the last place Abby wanted to have a family reunion.

"I was truly hoping you were your sister," his voice mocked her as he paced in front of Abby, "You've grown up haven't you."

Abby scowled, "Shove it Khan."

_**Smack.**_

Abby's head jerked to the side. She felt her lip bleeding as she looked up at Khan, "You never deserved her."

Khan placed his hands behind his back. The comment did more to him than he wished. Over the years he learned to surprises his memories of Mara and how much he loved her. It was a weakness, an unnecessary weakness, "That remains to be seen. Azlyn take her away."

The redhead, Azlyn, pulled Abby to her feet. She narrowed her eyes as she was dragged away, "She was smart to move on, you never deserved any ounce of tears she shed for you!"

Mara stared at her reflection in horror. Never in her twenty six years did she hear Abby so scared. She finished brushing her teeth and pulled on her black jacket. Molly was at work that morning. Mara ran into the living room and quickly wrote her mother a note telling her something came up and Abby wanted her to pick her up. It was more or less the truth.

She grabbed her keys and ran from the apartment. Mara's heart was pounding as she got into her car and drove towards the transport station. In the past two years numerous advancements were made in transportation. While the plans were taken from the sky the ability to beam yourself from one point to the other was created. Mara wove her way through the morning traffic of Phoenix as she headed towards the station. Her heart was pounding.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into to Abby!" Mara yelled as she pulled into an empty parking spot. She turned off the car and grabbed her wallet from the glove compartment and jumped from the car. Mara took off into the station in a sprint pushing people aside as she ran up to the counter.

The woman gave Mara a once over, "Can I help you-"

"I need a transport to New York City now," Mara snapped as she fished out her credit card from her wallet, "Put it all on this."

The woman took the card and typed something into the computer, "Alright head down to the right show your ID Dr. Harrison and you'll be on your way to New York."

Mara didn't even wait to get her ID back. She ran the direction the woman told her to but was stopped by two men dressed in all black, "ID miss."

"Here," Mara spat throwing it at them as then stepped into the transport chamber. After a moment of inspection the guards flipped the switch. Mara cringed as she felt her body being taken apart atom by atom and thrown 3,000 miles. It was her second time traveling this way and Mara hated it. When she felt herself being pulled back together she gasped and staggered out of the pod.

She was in Grand Central Station. Mara looked around marveling at the pods that lined the walls of the train station. Various men and women got out of the tube and began going about their daily business. Mara looked around for an information desk but found none. She scowled and resulted to walking over to one of the policemen standing by the door.

"Sir I need to find my sister, she said she was in some sort of trouble where would she be brought?" Mara asked the man.

The elderly officer looked around to make sure no one was watching them then leaned down, "Empire State Building, be careful miss."

Mara thanked him and took off outside to hail a cab. After a few failed tries one of the yellow taxi's pulled up next to her. Mara threw herself into the cab and told him where to go. She leaned back drumming her fingers on the door as she watched New York fly by.

The cab pulled up to the Empire State Building moments later. Mara looked up as the cabbie glanced up at her in his mirror, "Be careful miss, the leader is there and he doesn't like people bothering him."

Mara handed him a 50 dollar bill and smiled, "Keep the change and thanks."

The cabbie eagerly took the money and drove off. Mara stood looking up at the building as her heart pounded. Walking felt like there were cinderblocks tied to her feet. With each step Maras hands started to tremble.

Mara swallowed hard and pushed the door open. The building was all done over with polished white floors and black furniture. Guards Thurber their attention towards Mara who stood there awkwardly.

A woman with long red hair walked off the elevator and stopped. She and Mara made eye contact as a cat like grin appeared on her face, "How can Head Quarters help you?"

"I'm here for my sister," Mara hissed.

She tilted her head to the side and smiled, "I don't know-"

"Cut the shit," Mara snapped.

The woman's smile dropped and was replace with a scowl, "And who are you."

"Dr. Margaret Harrison," The woman smirked and motioned for Mara to follow her. Mara followed the woman into the elevator. She was much taller than Mara and was more cuevas oohs.

The woman pushed a button and the elevator began to as send. Mara looked down at her crimson tee shirt, jeans , and sandals suddenly feeling very plane. The woman gave her a once over and smirked as the elevator stopped, "Follow me."

Mara followed her down the hall. It was made of all windows and overlooked the New York skyline. Under different circumstances Mara would have thought it was beautiful. They came to a door at the end of the hall and the woman opened it. She pushed Mara inside who turned and scowled as the door shut.

She was in a gait study. Books lined the walls that surround a large oak desk. Mara looked over her shoulder then ran over to the desk. She began searching through the various drawers looking for anything that could help Abby.

In the top drawer of the desk was a picture. It looked worn and the sides were ripped and fester. Maras brows knitted together as she studied the picture for a moment. She knew the scene, but it seemed so alien and forgotten to her. Mara found herself falling back into the leather office chair as she studied the scene.

It was of her on her eighth birthday. She was flashing a cheesy smile at the camera with chocolate cake sneered all over her mouth. A pink and blue party hat sat on her head and she was holding a balloon.

"Do you find my chair comfortable?"

Mara looked up as her eyes met someone she hoped she wouldn't see.

"Khan."


	16. Chapter 16

Fifteen:

Khan knew that it was only a matter of time before Mara showed up but when Azlyn informed him about a certain 'curly haired IVY league prep kid' waiting in his office he thought it was a joke. He was busy planning a new space expedition when Azlyn first told him about Mara's sudden arrival and her brass introduction. Khan didn't want to be bothered with Mara at the moment but the thought of seeing her again intrigued him.

So Khan did the only thing that would keep him in control of the situation. He had Abby brought to him and nearly dragged her down to his study by her hair. She bit back tears the whole way and occasionally muttered a curse at him. They stopped at the door to his study and paused. Khan could hear someone rustling around in his desk, he smirked knowing Mara's curiosity was getting the better of her.

He pulled the door open but she didn't look up. Abby went to scream but Khan covered her mouth as he smirked, "Do you find my chair comfortable?"

Mara's headshot up from the picture she was looking at. Her eyes went wide as he smirked. She opened her mouth, "Khan."

"Miss me?" He taunted but Mara's eyes turned to Abby.

"Abby!" She shouted as she threw the picture down and ran to her sister. Khan held pushed the younger sister behind him but Mara pushed him aside. Khan let the small woman move him against his better judgement and watched as she pulled Abby into a tight hug.

Abby began sobbing as she clutched her sisters black windbreaker. Mara stroked her sister's hair as she tried to calm her, "It's alright Abbs, I'm here please don't cry it's okay we're going to go home don't worry."

"She isn't going anywhere," Khan's voice broke the moment.

Mara looked up at him and for the first time saw him. He seemed so strange and different then that fateful night they were pull away from each other. For a moment she thought about what could have happened if that night never happened. They would have gone to school, maybe they would have stayed together, maybe they would have gotten married. But Mara forced the thoughts from her mind and focused on channeling her hate for him.

"If you think I'm leaving her here you're an idiot," she sneered.

Khan shook his head and chuckled, "Look at her ankle."

Mara hesitated but looked down at Abby's ankle. A tracker was strapped to Abby's thin ankle. She looked up at Khan as she let go of Abby and pushed her sister behind her, "Take the tracker off Khan."

"I can't do that Margaret," he sneered, "You see Abbigail here has been charged with an act of terror and attempted murder. I can't just let this dangerous criminal walk free."

Mara's look of rage turned to one of confusion as she looked at her sister who hung her head in shame. She looked back at the smirking Khan, "My sister isn't a terrorist."

Khan turned his attention to the ashamed looking Abby, "Would you like to tell her or shall I?"

"Abby what are you talking about?" She asked as she looked back at Abby.

Abby shifted from foot to foot, "For the past year I-I've been involved with an anti-government group. We attacked the Guggenheim last night and I-I shot Khan."

Mara shut her eyes and groaned knowing getting Abby home just got harder, "We'll talk about this later."

"But I had to!" Abby began to protest, "He killed my leader!"

"Abigail shut up!" Mara snapped. Abby hung her head in shame as Mara turned back to Khan, "Please Khan she's just a kid let her have this mistake. You're fine please let me take Abby home."

Khan shook his head, "I can't allow a terrorist to walk free. She has to serve her sentence like any other criminal even if she is a _Harrison."_

"How long is the sentence?" Mara asked as she rubbed one of her temples.

"It's a life sentence, we take terrorism very seriously," Khan smirked.

Mara felt her heart drop when she heard Abby's cry. Her sister began crying uncontrollably as she gripped Mara's arm, "I-I'm so-so sorry Mara."

"Sh it's okay Abby," Mara hugged her sister as she turned back to Khan, "Let me serve it for her. I'll serve two please just let Abby go."

Khan smirked at the idea. For years he longed to have Mara back and now was his opportunity. But he could tell things weren't going to be the way they used to be, she looked so angry and hurt.

He saw the pleading in her eyes. He saw the look before, the day he almost killed Tony Davis she gave him the same look. Khan tried to keep himself from subcoming to those big green eyes, "Now that wouldn't be fair would it Abigail? Letting your sister take the fall for something you did, shame shame."

Abby was shaking and crying harder. Mara looked back at her sister then back at Khan, "I'll serve two sentences just please let my sister go."

Khan leaned down and tilted Mara's head up with his index finger, "What makes you think I'll agree to this?"

"I don't, but I'm begging you. Please, let Abby go," Mara pleaded.

Khan smirked as he leg to of her chin. He turned his back to her with his hands clasped behind his back, "Fine, say your goodbyes it will be the last time you see each other."

Abby felt her world come crashing down. It took years for their relationship to be where it was and now Mara was being pulled away from her, "No! No Mara please no, please take me!"

Mara turned as her eyes began to water. Her baby sister, almost four inches taller than her, grew up so much in the past seven years. Abby's eyes were watering as Mara pulled her into a tight hug, "Listen to me right now. I love you Abby, you are my baby sister and best friend. Go home, tell mum I'm sorry and that I'll miss you both very much. Tell Cole I'll miss him but please go and have a nice life. Do something great with your life, go to the moon. But please, don't be mad. This is my decision and I would do this a thousand times over. I love you Abby."

Abby was now crying into Mara's hair. She held onto Mara for dear life, "I-I'm so sorry Mara."

Khan scowled at their goodbye. He turned and roughly pulled Mara away. A guard came in and grabbed Abby as she held her hand out for her sister, "No! Mara please I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Mara let a tear run down her cheek as Abby was pulled from the room. She felt Khan's hand gripping her shoulder and his eyes pouring into the back of her head, "I hate you," she whispered.

She turned so she was facing him then slapped him across the face. Khan's head jerked to the side and she went to slap him again but he caught her wrist. He pulled her to his chest and looked down, "How dare you-"

"No how dare you!" Mara started, "How dare you come waltzing back into my life after seven years!" She shook herself from his grasp, "What happened to the person I fell in love?"

His eyes were dark, "He was left in a dark basement," he looked up at the guards, "Take her to my quarters."

The two guards grabbed Mara by the arms and lead her from the study. She bowed her head and thought about everything she gave up. She gave up her dream to go to the stars, her mother's vegetarian cooking that drove her crazy, she gave up the Arizona desert she loved so much. She gave up Cole, his horrible jokes, and crazy tattoos. She gave up her sister, her Volleyball games, her awful pop music, and her constant cheery demeanor. She gave up her mother, the late nights they would sit on the couch and watch old Doris Day Movies.

She gave up everything.

Mara felt the guards shove her into the large room. It overlooked the sun setting over the city. One wall was made of glass panels and there were no lights in the room. A large bed with gray sheets sat against a wall. It was made and looked inviting. Mara kicked off her sandals and sat on the bed. She didn't care if it was Khans, Mara was exhausted and the bed was soft. After ten minutes of crying Mara's eyes fluttered and she fell to sleep.

Khan walked into his room half expecting Mara to attack him. But the scene he saw in front of him was even more shocking. Mara was curled into a ball lying on top of his bed. Khan threw his coat onto the back of his chair and walked over to the bed. He lifted Mara up with one arm and tucked her under the covers then laid down next to her. Reluctantly Khan turned his back to Mara and soon fell asleep.

**I bet you guys thought it was going to be all happy and cute? Nope! Don't hate me don't hate me trust me there will be plenty of time for cute- or as cute as things can be- Khan and Mara stuff.  
-Cryo**


	17. Chapter 17

Sixteen:

Khan woke up the next morning facing Mara with an arm wrapped around her waist. He allowed himself a moment to watch her sleep. She looked so peaceful, a few dark curls hung in her face as she chest moved up and down with such grace. She smelt of desert flowers and morning dew, Khan found it intoxicating.

Old memories of mornings similar to this one filled Khan's mind. He remembered the first time they spent the night together, they were both nervous but the night was perfect. He remembered the feeling of her skin pressed against his and the sound of her desperately moaning his name. For a moment Khan contemplated kissing her neck just to see if he could get the same reaction from her.

Reluctantly he took his arm off her waist. He knew it was a bad idea, she would wake up furious which would shatter any feelings she had for him. Khan left the bed and headed for the bathroom that adjoined his room for a shower.

When Mara heard the door click shut her eyes snapped open. For the past hour she was laying awake waiting until Khan left. Quietly she slipped out of bed and crept over to where she tossed off her sandals the night before. Crouching down Mara grabbed her shoes in one hand then walked over to the door. She tugged on the handle but found it to be locked.

Panic set in as Mara jiggled the handle a few more times. It was useless, the door was locked. Mara's head turned to the door as she heard the shower click off. With a shaking hand Mara grabbed the vase off Khan's night stand and pressed herself against the wall next to the door. The door opened and she lept out hitting Khan over the head with the vase.

Much to her dismay, Khan did not move. Before Mara could even run he had her pressed to the wall, one hand next to her head, while the other had a firm grip on her elbow. He stood there naked staring down at her.

Bravely Mara looked up at him, "Unless you want me to ruin your chance of having kids I would let go of me."

Khan searched her eyes for a bluff. Her green eyes were hard and hurt. Sighing Khan let go of Mara and she shoved past him, "Put some clothes on."

"My lack of clothing never bothered you before," he teased as he bent over to grab the towel that fell from his waist. He wrapped it around his waist and turned to face Mara who was sitting cross legged on the bed looking out the window.

"Bite me," she snarled.

"You used to like that too," his comment made Mara blush.

Khan walked over to his closet and took out clothes for the day. Mara stayed on the bed refusing to look at him. He was good looking, better looking than she remembered. She watched as his muscles contracted as he looked through his clothing. Mara forced herself to stop thinking of those things. She was a sadistic dictator not the man she fell in love with.

"Wear this," Khan threw a skimpy black dress at her.

Mara caught the garment and arched her eyebrow, "Please tell me this is a shirt."

He chuckled, "You either wear this or nothing at all."

Mara decided it was time to test his limits. She stood and walked over to his closet and took out one of his dark blue sweaters. She stepped into the bathroom and took off her jacket and tee shirt then pulled the sweater over her head. After a moment she emerged from the bathroom to see Khan fully dressed and standing before her arms crossed over his chest.

"This is going to be hard if you don't listen to me," his deep voice was laced with promise.

A small smirk tugged on Mara's lips. She took a step towards him and placed her hands on her hips, "That's the fun part, I ruin your life."

"I could just kill you," he said simply.

"But you won't," Mara muttered, "You would have done it when I smashed the vase over your head."

"Maybe I just want to hear you scream my name one more night."

_**Slap.**_

Khan's head jerked to the side. He let out a long annoyed sigh at her feeble attempt to hurt him. He turned back and looked at the pain in her eyes. Mara looked as if she was about to break down.

"How dare you-"

"No how dare you!" Mara cut him off and began yelling, "How dare you never try to find me, for what seven years! I thought you were dead, I mourned you for years and how dare you come back into my life and just think you can say those things to me!"

Tears were now sliding down her face. Khan's hands formed into fists, "I was imprisoned by your father in a basement for five years Mara! You are so thick at times."

"Excuse me?" She arched an eyebrow, "I was your only friend, EVER. I stood up for you and always routed for you how the hell can you say that you overgrown genetically engineered asshole!"

He took a step towards her and glared down, "Easily because you're just a small spineless human with strange hair and childish dreams."

"You're a monster," Mara whispered as she felt her heart break. For seven years she dreamed of this moment. In her mind he wrapped his arms around her and would kiss her but this was too far away from her dream.

"It's about time you learned," he hissed. He saw Mara's heartbreak in her eyes. He shut his eyes and let out a long sigh, "Get out of my sight I don't care where you go."

He unlocked the door for her and Mara left. She stormed down the hallway taking various turns trying to get herself lost. Tears were spilling down her face faster now. Mara reached a dead end and slid down the wall. She pressed her back to the wall and pulled her knees to her chest. Her heart was broken. She missed the old Khan, the one that loved her and cared about her.

A life sentence- two.

Mara didn't know how she could handle it. She hadn't been there twenty four hours and she was already torn up emotionally. Mara rested her head against the wall then wiped the tears off her face.

Her stomach growled. Mara crushed herself as she pushed herself to her feet. Khan said she could go anywhere that that's what she intended to do.

"Abby what's wrong where's Mara?!" Molly Harrison yelled when she picked up her youngest from the train station.

Abby looked a mess. She was standing there with messy hair, blood splattered on her black shirt, and had a split lip. Molly pulled her youngest into a tight hug. Abby clung to her mother as she began to sob uncontrollably, "M-mom M-mara's gone."

Molly let go of Abby but gripped her shoulders as she looked into her eyes, "What do you mean Mara's gone?"

"I- I did something bad," Abby tried to control herself long enough to tell her story, "I attacked Khan and was thrown into prison. I called Mara and she came to get me b-but he wouldn't let me leave."

Molly's heart began to drop. Mara was the type to sacrifice everything for Abby, "Abigail listen to me right now, where is Mara?"

"She-she's in New York," Abby sobbed as looked down, "Mara convinced Khan to let me go and let her serve my sentence."

Molly dropped to the ground of the train station. Abby knelt next to her mother as Molly began to cry, "Oh my baby, what have you done to yourself Mara."

Abby wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders, "Mom I promise we'll get her back. No matter what."

**Again please don't hate me  
-Cryo**


	18. Chapter 18

Seventeen:

For the past two hours Mara explored the building. She went to the Empire State Building once when she was young but it looked so different now. Khan had everything redone and made it darker, this place really was a prison.

Mara turned and walked down a set of fire stares until she smelt something cooking. Groaning Mara realized how hungry she was and she pushed the door open. It opened to the back of a kitchen where a blond man was furiously trying to cook bacon.

"Shit shit shit," he muttered as he threw a failed piece into the garbage.

With a small smile Mara climbed out of the door and walked over to him, "That piece could have been better if you just left it in a bit longer."

He looked up shocked to see a human standing there, "Um can I help you?"

"Oh sorry I was just making an observation," Mara noted.

He sighed and leaned on the counter, "I can't bloody cook but he puts me here."

"Khan troubles?" Mara folded her arms over her chest. She felt bad for the skittish young man with brilliant blue eyes.

He nodded and ran a hand through his short hair, "Look you must be new here but I doubt you're suppose to be here, but if you feel like causing some trouble then can you help me?"

A small smile appeared on Mara's face, "Sure, let me cook the bacon."

He stepped aside and watched as Mara rolled up her sleeves then placed three strips into the greasy pan, "I'm Alexander by the way."

"Mara, nice to meet you. Where's your accent from?" She decided making small talk would be best. It could keep him from asking why she was here.

"Sweden," he looked down with a longing smile.

Mara knew the look. It was someone who missed their home and would give anything to be back there, "Okay watch what I'm doing."

She showed him how to make fry bacon then how to wrap it to get some of the grease off. Alexander looked over her shoulder watching eagerly while she cracked eggs into a bowl and whisked them. They went about doing this for an hour until the door slammed open.

Alexander jumped, "Alec, can I help you."

The man, Alec, turned his attention to Mara, "You, Khan wants to see you."

"Khan can shove it," Mara said boldly as she took a bite of bacon.

"Not an option," he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the kitchen. Mara trashed and tried to pull out of his grip but it was useless. He dragged her to the study she was in twenty four hours earlier and shoved her inside.

Mara staggered and fell to the ground. She felt her ankle twist as she fell and let out a sharp cry. Khan looked up from his desk and shook his head, "You were always clumsy."

"I was hoping you were going to get the message and leave me alone," Mara sneered as she tried to stand. SHe could walk, granted she had a limp, as long as she didn't lean on her twisted ankle.

"I don't feel, comfortable, with you wandering around the building," Khan tried to hide his concern. The men liked human women and he knew some would try to attack Mara.

She rolled her eyes as she hobbled over to a chair and sat down, "Why, afraid I'm going to run away?"

Khan glared at her, "Don't act like a child Mara."

"Kiss my ass Khan," she snapped as she pulled off her sandal and rolled up her jeans. She felt her ankle and hissed, "Yep, twisted."

"You can't tell that just by looking at your foot," Khan muttered bitterly.

Mara rolled her eyes, "My mother is a doctor I believe I can tell a twisted ankle when I see one."

Khan bit back a comment and shut his eyes. He tried to calm his temper by counting backwards from ten. Never did he think Mara would be this bitter when they were reunited, "What have I missed in the past seven years?"

Mara shrugged, "My parent's divorce, dad's decline into becoming an alcoholic, my extensive nights of getting no sleep because of you, and Abby grew up. What more do you want to know about?"

Khan was taken back. Molly and John Harrison had a picture perfect marriage and always seemed to be happy. Imagining one without the other was hard for Khan since they seemed to be joined at the hip, "What brought that on?"

"After that, night," he noticed her hesitation at the mention of their last night, "Dad got mad and slapped me, he yelled at me called me your whore and shook me a lot. Needless to say, mum was pissed."

Khan nodded and continued to look through police reports from the various cities, "How many people have you been with since me?"

Mara was taken back by his bluntness. She shifted and arched her eyebrows, "You can't ask me those things."

Khan's eyes snapped up as he turned his computer monitor towards Mara. On the monitor was a picture of her and Cole shaking a milkshake, "You two make a lovely couple."

For a moment Mara titled her head back and let out a loud laugh. She laughed for a few moments before composing herself and wiping a tear from her eye, "Cole?! Really Khan if you cared that much you would have looked up Cole and found out he's gay."

The expression of shock on Khan's face was priceless. Mara wished she had her mobile so she could document this moment. He quickly composed himself and his shocked expression was replaced with a stoic look, "How many have you been with?"

Mara folded her arms over her chest. The truth was Mara hadn't been with anyone since Khan. Sure she went on dates but they all ended the same with no one comparing to Khan. She knew if she told him it was just stroke his ego, "Why does it matter so much."

Khan slammed his fist down on his desk and glared at her. Mara jumped and tried to hold back her fear. But he could see it in her eyes, she was terrified of him, "Answer the question Mara or else I will have you tested so I can see each and every one of the men you've been with."

"You wouldn't," Mara narrowed her eyes as she tried to keep her composer.

"Try me Margaret," his voice was threatening and primal. He knew what she was doing. It was dangerous game Mara had a habit of playing. She was testing him trying to push him over the edge.

"None," Mara hung her head embarrassed. It was bad enough to be interrogated by the man but now she had to admit defeat.

Khan smirked knowing he was her last, "My my you must be out of practice."

Her cheeks heated up, "You have no right to say anything like that to me."

"You're my prisoner I can do whatever I wish," he smirked and leaned back in her chair.

Mara pulled her knee to her chest and looked anywhere but at Khan, "Just kill me, if you're going to just taunt me please just kill me."

"Did you miss me?" Khan didn't want to ask the question that was pulling on his heart strings but he did.

"Why did you leave me when you could have come back?" Mara whispered as she focused on her injured ankle.

"I was afraid you moved on," Khan's voice was barely above a whisper.

A tear ran down her cheek as Mara smiled softly, "It's kind of hard to move on from you."

He saw her truly then. He saw the pain she went through in the past seven years. It was just as bad if not worse than the pain he experienced being away from her. Mara wiped a tear from her cheek with the sleeve of his sweater but didn't meet his eyes.

"I'm tired," she whispered softly.

Khan walked over to her and picked her up bridal style with ease. Mara didn't protest she just rested her head on his chest and listened to the beating of his heart while he carried her back to his room.

**So I decided to have a nice moment for these two, but will it last? Oh and a fun fact about this chapter is Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake has to be the theme song for this.  
-Cryo**


	19. Chapter 19

Eighteen:

Khan laid Mara down on his bed but she still didn't look at him. Once she was on the bed the small woman rolled onto her side and stared out over the New York skyline. Mara tucked both hands under her head as she cried softly. Her ankle was throbbing and she longed for home. Mara let herself think about Abby and her mother for a moment. Were they missing her? Would they miss her in the days to come?

"I didn't come for you because love is a weakness," Khan finally spoke. He was sitting on the opposite side of the bed resting his elbows on his knees, "I needed to give my family a home and I couldn't have any distractions."

"Especially from a human right?" Mara sneered.

Khan shut his eyes and let out a long sigh, "This isn't how I imagined our runion."

"We're both to blame for this one," Mara muttered as she rolled over to face him. She reached up with a shaking hand and gently pulled on his shoulder. Khan complied and turned so he could face her.

"Can we start over?" He whispered. He wanted Mara back, he always did. She was the only bright light in his life. He missed her smile and the way she would look at him when she thought no one was watching.

"We can try," she said as she sat up cross legged on his bed. Her hands rested in her lap as he turned mimicking the way she was sitting, "That human comment hit pretty hard."

"Well being called an overgrown asshole wasn't pleasant either," Khan joked with a small smile.

The corner of her lips turned up into a smile, "You are overgrown compared to me, and you were acting like an asshole."

Khan smiled and reached a hand out caressing her face. Mara wanted to turn away but she couldn't bring herself to. She longed for his touch, she ached for it. For seven years she wanted nothing more than to be held by him, to know he was still there and still cared. She reached up her hand and touched his gently with a small smile.

Khan let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding back. He based in the feeling of her small hand touching his. She was accepting him, allowing him in. Hesitantly Khan leaned forward and softly pressed his lips to Mara's. She hesitated for a moment not returning his kiss out of fear and uncertainty. After a moment Mara returned the kiss, she needed this as much as he did. Eagerly Khan laced his fingers into her dark curls and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her onto his lap. Mara wrapped her arms around his neck as he ran his tongue along her lower lip. She let him in as his tongue explored her mouth he held her harder.

Seven years of wanting and needing were conveyed in that kiss. He held onto her for dear life never wanting her to leave. She returned his kiss with the same amount of desire and wanting. Mara cursed herself for kissing him back but it felt right. She loved this man for almost all her life, she would be damned if she let him go. Even if he was a sadistic dictator she saw the man she fell in love with. He was there under that hard exterior, and right now he was there kissing her.

Khan slipped his hand up her back feeling her soft skin under his calloused palms. She moaned into the kiss at his touch. Khan smirked as he layed her down still remaining on top and trailed kisses from her lips to her neck. Mara's eyes went wide as she gasped. Khan smirked as he slid the oversized sweater over her head and threw it to the side. Mara felt the need to cover herself as she blushed.

Khan sat up, "Don't, you're beautiful."

Mara blushed and kicked off her jeans but instead of going back to their feverish kisses she sat up cross legged again. Khan took the sight of Mara in nothing but her bra and panties in. It was intoxicating. She leaned forward to kiss him but Khan cut her off and kissed her forehead, "We have all the time in the world for that, I would like to catch up with you for a bit."

"Thank god because going from hating you to having sex would be all too exciting for my taste," Mara's joke earned a smile from Khan, "What would you like to know?"

"How was school?" Khan decided starting with that would be best.

"Fantastic, I have my doctorate in astrophysics and a masters in aerospace engineering," she said as she shivered, "Christ it's cold."

Mara stood and looked for the sweater Khan threw. Khan watched her walk away and noticed something on her hip that wasn't there seven years ago. A smirk tugged on his lips as she pulled the sweater over her head. She noticed the smirk and narrowed her eyes at him, "What's so funny?"

"Is that a tattoo?" Khan couldn't believe Mara had one.

"Oh god I was hoping you were going to notice that," she groaned as she fell back onto the bed.

Khan leaned against the headboard while Mara rested her head on his pillows. Khan folded his arms over his chest and smirked, "I can't believe you got a tattoo, what is of again?"

She knew he saw it but was trying to tease her. She covered her face with her palms and let out a long groan, "Oh god it's E=MC²."

"And why did you do that?" He teased as he turned on his side looking down at her.

"I was pissed at dad for making you leave and I wanted to do something to forget the pain of losing you. So I got a tattoo and have regretted it ever since," Mara looked up at him and sighed, "I still hate you though."

Khan's deep baritone laugh filled the room, "I would be disappointed if you weren't."

Mara pointed a finger at him and narrowed her eyes, "Just because I kissed you and we did all of, that, doesn't mean I forgave you, you overgrown asshole."

He laughed again and pulled the cover over them, "Alright Mara that's enough today. We can go back to hating each other tomorrow."

Mara nodded as her eyes began to flutter. She fell asleep before Khan so he laid there for a moment just looking at her. He smiled and held her close to him as he fell asleep.

**Thought you guys needed a happy chapter! But will the happiness last?  
-Cryo**


	20. Chapter 20

Nineteen:

"Again," Khan ordered.

Mara wiped the sweat from her brow as she painted, "Khan, I'm human. I can't work as hard as you're pushing me."

_**Opf. **_

Khan threw the medicine ball at Mara hitting her square in the stomach. She gasped and arched over holding the ball, "You're an awful person."

Khan laughed and shook his head, "You're weak, you need to be stronger."

"Gee thanks," Mara muttered as she threw the ball back to Khan.

He smirked and held the 12 pound ball with one hand, "You need to be strong if you want to survive here."

"Well you could always send me home?" Two weeks went by since the night Mara sacrificed herself for Abby. Her relationship with Khan was rocking, they mostly staying in his room and talked but occasionally they got into arguments. Their arguments would range from comments being passed back and forth to yelling matches where sometimes Khan would throw her over his shoulder and take her to bed to stop the fighting. The two had their moments where they got along like they used to and they found themselves laughing and joking around.

He smirked as he wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her smaller form to him, "Never," he kissed her lightly and felt Mara smile into the kiss.

"Hm maybe one day you'll go for it," Mara joked as she took a step back. For the past two hours Khan was forcing her to do strength training. He spent the past two days lecturing her that Mara wasn't strong enough to handle living around his family. She promptly told him that she would just hide behind him and everything would be okay.

"After seven years, I'm not letting go," Khan joked as Mara took the ball from his hand.

"How strong do you expect me to be?" Mara asked as she examined the ball.

"Strong enough to hold your ground," Khan took a long sip of water and placed the bottle back down.

Mara folded her arms over her chest and smirked, "I could take you down."

Khan laughed at the small woman. Mara was a head shorter than him and while she excelled in academics her strength was less than impressive. She narrowed her eyes at Khan while he shook his head, "Mara, no you can't."

"Fine but I could build something to beat you with," she muttered.

"Of course darling," he walked over to her and kissed her forehead then picked her up, "Get out of this hold."

Mara groaned as she repeated the steps Khan taught her. She put pressure on the joint in his shoulder causing him to loosen his grip. Mara dropped and twisted his arm in an awkward angle behind his back. Khan smirked and allowed her to knock his feet out from under him. She pushed him to the ground and pressed her knee to his back. Mara was painting from the adrenaline rush but smirked, "Did I win?"

"In a way," Khan smiled.

She let go of his arm and pointed a finger at him, "You let me win didn't you?"

"We would be here all day if I didn't," Khan teased.

"You break my heart Khan," Mara faked a frown and turned to walk away. Khan reached out and grabbed her pulling her to his chest and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her as they explored each other's mouths. Khan's primal instinct took over and in one swift motion Khan wrapped Mara's legs around his waist and pressed her to the wall. One of his hands was pressed against the wall next to Mara's head as he kissed her passionately. Mara wove her fingers into his slicked back hair as she moved her kiss from his lips to his jaw, then down to his neck.

Khan let out a low groan as Mara kissed, sucked, and nibbled on his neck. She could tell she was driving him mad by how hard he was running his hand up and down her leg. His hand stopped at her rear and let out a low husky laugh, "You're driving me crazy woman."

"Good," Mara leaned up and softly bit his earlobe. Khan wasn't about to let her get the upper hand. He leaned his head down and kissed her neck causing Mara to shiver. Khan smirked as he gently nibbled her neck causing a moan to escape her lips. She melted against him as he kissed and sucked her neck harder.

"Oh the things I walk in on," A voice sneered from the door.

Khan shut his eyes and groaned as he pulled away from Mara and looked up. Azlyn was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, "Azlyn what do you need?"

"There matters you have to attend to Khan," she narrowed her eyes at Mara, "Your little, pet, can wait."

"I'll be there soon, leave," Khan snapped before turning back to Mara. For the past two weeks Azlyn spent most of her time trying to cause trouble for the two. Azlyn constantly broke up intimate moments and tried seduce Khan more than she already did.

Mara didn't like the red haired woman. Her intense golden gaze was unsettling and she seemed to hate her. More than once Mara caught Azlyn trying to flirt with Khan but he wouldn't play into it. She turned back to Khan as he rested his forehead against hers, "Go, I'll be in the bedroom."

He smirked and kissed her quickly before gently setting her down, "I won't be long, make yourself at home."

With that he followed Azlyn out the door. Mara straightened up the gym for a few minutes until she heard the door open, "Hey back so soon?"

"Wrong person," Alec's voice muttered. He wasn't sure what to make of the human woman. In their years of imprisonment Khan told him briefly about their past and who she was. Alec expected her to be more impressive, taller, curvier, with glossier hair, and brighter eyes. She was nothing he expected of a woman of Khan.

Mara stood and wiped the dust on her hands off on her pants, "Hi Alec."

She was polite for one, never spoke unless spoken too, and didn't hold Khan back from his duties as their leader, "Do you need an escort back to your room?"

"Sure that would be nice, thanks," Mara grabbed her and Khan's water bottles and followed the tall man out of the room, "Quick question, why are you all so tall?"

Alec smirked, "It's a genetic advantage to be taller, you're quicker and more agile, we are normal size you are just short."

"Now you sound like Khan," Mara joked as they turned a corner.

"I am curious, how long have you known Khan?" Alec asked Khan the same question many times before but he never got an answer. Khan was his leader and he didn't want someone unworthy of him occupying his time.

"Oh wow, um since I was eight so about, eighteen years," Mara said, "Great now I'm dating myself."

Alec chuckled at the joke, "What was he like as a child?"

"Now you know I can't tell you that, he'd have both of us thrown into prison," she half joked, "But he was an interesting child."

Alec shook his head and laughed, "Here is your room, be careful of Azlyn."

Mara nodded and slipped inside. She began peeling off her clothes and walked into the bathroom where she took a long soothing shower. She could do this, a life sentence- or two.

**Really short but I wanted to have a nice Khan and Mara moment. **


	21. Chapter 21

Nineteen:

-Back on the Enterprise-

"300 hundred years into the future and men still like to make women dance around in skimpy outfits," Mara muttered as she pulled down the hem of her short blue dress. Kirk inducted her into the Science Department of the Enterprise and gave her the short blue dress. That material clung to her body but was comfortable and practical nonetheless.

"If you think that's bad wait until you see the space suits," a smooth southern voice joked.

Mara jumped and he smirked, "Sorry to startle you."

"It's alright Bones," Mara said as she walked over to one of the examination tables and hoisted herself up, "Ugh 300 years of sleeping really does wonders on your joints."

Bones laughed as he handed her a sandwich, "I can imagine, here eat this."

Mara took it eagerly and opened it up, "Oh god, you guys must really want me on your side because this has bacon on it!"

"A woman who loved her meat, want to get a drink sometime?" For the past hour they flirted with each other lightly.

Mara took a huge bite of her sandwich and chewed as she let out a moan of approval, "If you keep on feeding me BLT's I'll take your last name."

Bones laughed as he sat down on the examination table across from her. Bones watched as the small woman devoured her sandwich then placed the container next to her. She smiled and looked around the med bay, "This place is amazing my mom would love it."

"Yeah my home away from home is pretty great isn't it?" He smirked as he folded his arms over his chest, "You're taking this all pretty well. If I was in your position I would have torn this ship in half by now."

"No I have to keep myself under control it's Khan you should be worried about," Mara sighed as she pulled her dark curls into a long hanging ponytail.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are we dealing with?" Bones decided it would be best to get the information from Mara.

Mara hesitated answering. While she was angry for waking up in a different time unsure of how she got there she still loved Khan. It was her curse Mara decided, no matter what she would always have feelings for him. Sighing Mara shook her head as she rested her hands on the edge of the table, "He's a genetic experiment the government commissioned. My, father, made Khan and his crew in a lab. Khan is genetically superior to us, to anyone."

"So he's not even human?" Bones asked.

"Ha, if you asked me before I went to sleep I would have told you Khan had a human side, but now I'm not convinced. I saw what he did to London, and what he did to Star Fleet. I'm sorry," She looked down ashamed.

"Why are you sorry?" Bones asked.

Mara let out a long sigh, "Because I made the cryo stasis tubes. If I didn't make those tubes we would have died when we were suppose to."

Bone moved so he was sitting next to Mara and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "It's alright Mar. But I have to ask something else, how were you shot?"

"I-I don't even know," Mara muttered. Everything was a blur, all she remembered was saving Abby from Khan's wrath. Everything else was a blur until she woke up on the Enterprise.

The door slid open for six armed guards in red shirts escorting Khan. Khan saw Bones and Mara sitting close together and scowled. He hated the idea of her being held by the doctor. Bones took his arm off of Mara's shoulder and stood going back into his professional Starfleet mode, "What is he doing here?"

"Captain's order's sir," one of the guards muttered. They clearly didn't want to be guarding him.

Khan sat down on the bed across from Mara, "Blue was always a nice color on you."

She rolled her eyes and went to leave but he spoke again, "You must be curious why I chose your father's name to use as my alise."

Mara stopped and looked back at Khan. She was curious, "More sickened than curious."

"I wanted to return the favor, taint his reputation for taking from me my last chance," his words were cryptic and shook Mara to the core. She wanted to walk away but couldn't.

She turned as her hand hovered over her stomach, "W-what are you talking about?"

"You don't remember do you?" Khan asked as Mara shook her head. He looked down and for a moment forgot about everyone in the room. He let his guard drop knowing this was the only way she was going to talk to him, "Sit, it appears I have much to tell you."

-New York 300 years earlier-

"Can you build these?" Khan slid plans for 73 cryo stasis tubes in front of Mara.

Mara put her spoonful of cereal down and looked over the plans. They were drastic and complex, it would take her years. Even though Mara had a masters in aerospace engineering this was beyond her. All eyes were on her while she studied the plans, Alec, Azyln, and Khan watched waiting for her answer.

Finally she shook her head and slid the plans back to Khan, "The technology we would need is too advanced. You're asking me to build 73 tubes to allow someone to be in suspended animation for months if not years. It's impossible with the technology we have now."

Khan's jaw tensed. The humans were starting to rebel against their authority and he feared their time was drawing to a close. He walked over to Mara and grabbed her arm roughly pulling her down the hall to their room. For the past year she stayed more as a guest than a prisoner. He shoved her inside causing Mara to stagger and nearly fall over.

"You will make these tubes or else I will have you thrown into prison," He yelled.

Mara looked up at Khan with a shocked expression, "It's impossible! It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that it's impossible!"

He grabbed her wrist and began to apply pressure, "Make it possible Margaret."

She looked at her wrist horrified but nodded, "I-I will."

Khan dropped her wrist and watched as Mara pulled it to her chest, "What's wrong with you? You were fine last night."

"I have pressing matters to attend to, you will stay here for the day use my computer and make a list of things we're going to need," with that he left slamming the door and locking it behind him.

Mara stood there for a moment shaking. She never saw Khan that angry and he never grabbed her so roughly. After a moment of looking at the door Mara walked over to the computer and turned it on. An idea hit her suddenly and she pulled up her old facebook.

Much to her surprise her account was still active. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Khan was long gone then pulled up her sister's profile. She didn't take any time to look at what Abby was doing Mara just pulled up the message icon and began to type furiously.

_I don't have much time and I don't know if I will ever be able to talk to you again. But I wanted to let you know that I am alive, Khan isn't torturing me. I miss you and mom so much. Tell Cole that I miss him too, I hope he's still hanging around with you guys. He's a good influence on you Abbs, keep him around. Please don't be mad, don't be bitter, don't live in the past. Move on with your life; get married, get a great job, and have kids. Hell have lots of kids you always loved them- but please name one after me. But name them Mara not Margaret. _

_Tell mom I love her. Please please please tell Mom I love her. Don't let her lose sleep over me, tell her I am alive and healthy. Don't let mom throw herself too much into work, her hair will go gray and start falling out. I have to go now, I don't know if I'll be able to talk to you again but please know I'm with you._

_-Mara_

Mara clicked send and closed the tab. Quickly Mara pulled up another tab and began to look through materials she would need. It was amazing, the internet was shut down everywhere else but here it was as if the world was normal. Curiousity got to best of her and Mara began to search current events outside the states.

"My my Khan is not going to be happy."

Mara froze as she felt someone lean down next to her. Azlyn's red hair appeared on the screen as she smirked and stroked Mara's hair, "You've been very very naughty haven't you? Khan won't like it."

Mara said nothing causing Azlyn to smirk, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Before Mara could answer she grabbed a handful of Mara's hair and dragged her out of the room. Mara clawed at Azlyn's hand desperate to pry it off but it was useless. She was much stronger than Mara.

Azlyn dragged the struggling woman down to the gym and slammed the door behind them. She threw her at the wall causing it to crack and Mara let out a groan, "I'm tired of you. Things were fine before you came."

Mara pushed herself up and scowled. Two of her ribs were surly bruised, "What's the matter? Did you finally realize Khan prefers a human to you?"

_**Crack**_

Azlyn delivered a sharp kick to Mara's jaw. Mara's head jerked back so hard that she was surprised that her neck didn't break. Mara groaned as she tasted blood. Azlyn grabbed Mara's collar and pulled her up, "I should kill you for that bitch."

"If-if you k-kill me Khan will kill you," Mara muttered as she bravely meet Azlyn's eyes.

"Ah but I said _should_, I'm going to make it so you wish you were dead," she grabbed Mara's arm and twisted it in the wrong direction. Mara let out a blood curdling scream that seemed to go on forever. Azlyn smirke and relished the scream, "Scream for me bitch."

She dropped Mara who landed in a ball on the floor. With her good arm Mara tried to reach forward for a weight but Azlyn delivered another hard kick to Mara's chest. The human woman hissed but forced herself to stand. Azlyn took a moment to appreciate the work she did; Mara's nose was broken, her lip was split, she would have bruised ribs, and her arm hung limply.

"Go down!" Azlyn screamed and threw a punch towards Mara. She was suddenly stopped by a hand pulling her back by her hair.

"You will not touch her," Khan hand Azlyn's head in his hands and began to squeeze.

Mara watched as Azlyn's eyes began to go wide. Her skin started to rip and she heard bones breaking. With her last remaining strenught Mara reached forward, "Khan, stop. Killing her makes you no better."

Khan was shocked. Azlyn tried to kill Mara yet she was standing up for her. Azlyn looked just as suprised when Khan released her. He walked passed his family member and over to Mara. He scoped the small woman into his arms and walked out of the gym leaving Azlyn on the floor.

"Let me look at it," Khan muttered.

Mara was sitting on his head looking over the city. Khan softly turned her head towards him to asses the damage done to her face, "I'm going to have to move your nose back into place."

She nodded and Khan quickly snapped it back into place. A small hiss escaped her lips as Khan looked at the rest of the damage. Dark bruises were forming under her eyes and her lip was swollen. Khan gently pulled up her tee shirt and saw three huge yellow and purple bruises on her ribs. He lowered the shirt and sighed, "I can heal you."

"I want to heal like a human," Mara muttered.

"No," Khan said curtly. He walked into the bathroom where Alec left a needle and surgeon. He stabbed the needle into his arm and took a blood sample. Then he switched the needles and walked into the room. Mara sat scared, he forgot she was afraid of needles.

"Just a little pinch," Khan coaxed her. He took her good and injected his blood into her bloodstream. Mara hissed as he took the needle out, "You will feel pain when your bones grow back but you will heal in a few days."

She nodded as Khan put her arm into a sling. When he was done Mara kicked off her shoes and pulled down the blanket with her good hand. Khan bowed his head and let out a long sigh, "Mara I wish to apologize-"

"It's fine, thank you for saving me," she muttered curtly as she laid down and pulled the blanket over her, "I'll build your tubes for you. I was wrong, it can be done."

**Evil Khan, gotta love him.**


	22. Chapter 22

Twenty:

Mara woke up the next morning alone. She sat up on her good arm looking around confused. It was unlike Khan to not come to bed. His pillow was gone and the throw blanket at the end of the bed was gone.

Sighing Mara got up and walked into the bathroom. She opened the door and stopped. Sound asleep in the tub was Khan wrapped in a throw blanket with one long leg hanging over the side of the tub. Mara contemplated turning on the water to wake him up or turning on the shower head. Both would be awful for her in the long run though. Sighing Mara walked over to the large white tub and knelt down next to the side. With her good hand she reached forward and moved a stray strand of black hair out of his eyes. Then she leaned forward and kissed him.

She felt his hand caress her cheek as she pulled away. Khan looked up at her, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Mara smiled, "The bruised wrist is nothing compared to a broken arm. Did you really sleep in the tub?"

"I didn't want to hurt you while we slept," he muttered as they both stood.

Mara put a hand on his chest and looked up into his eyes, "You don't have to worry about me so much."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "I like to, come let's plan those tubes."

Six months later Mara was all healed. Azlyn was demoted to working in the kitchen alongside Alexander who promised to keep a close eye on her. Mara began the arduous task of building Khan's tubes alongside Alec and a few other superhumans. Khan occasionally helped but things in the country were starting to get tenuous. Rumors of rebellion were spreading throughout the major cities and Khan was nervous.

He made Mara work harder and longer on the tubes. Other superhumans were busy building a ship, the SS Botany Bay- Khan's new obsession. It would be the most advanced spacecraft of it's time. Mara was impressed with the work Khan's family was able to accomplish in a short period of time. The ones that worked along side her were always eager to help any way they could. Some were eager to help while other's hoped she would sing their praises to Khan.

The day she finished the tubes Mara was ready to pass out. She was working on an hour of sleep and her muscles ached. When she put in the final computer she threw her tools aside and laughed, "We're done!"

Alec smirked, "Would you like to tell Khan?"

"Of course," Mara smirked as she ran towards the elevator. The whole ride to Khan's study Mara was bursting with excitement. When the doors opened she ran to his study and threw the door open, "They're done!"

Khan looked up and smirked as he closed the book he was reading. Mara walked over to him and kissed him so feverishly that Khan was taken back. When she pulled away Khan smirked, "My you're in a good mood."

Mara smirked, "How couldn't I be?"

Khan threw her over his shoulder and carried her out of his study and into their bedroom. For the past six months they didn't get much time with each other- Khan intended to make up for lost time.

He slammed the door to their room then tossed Mara onto the bed. Mara giggled as she watched him walk over to her possessively. He climbed over her and captured her lips his. Mara began to eagerly unbutton his shirt while Khan stroked her legs. Jesus he loved those legs. Since she was 15 those legs were intoxicating to him.

Khan moved his lips to her neck and began kissing and sucking. Mara moaned as she pushed his shirt off. Khan stood and threw the garment off before sitting Mara up and pulled her shirt off as well. Mara tugged on the waistband of his pants causing Khan to grin, "My my eager aren't we?"

She sat up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders then whispered into his ear, "Yes sir."

Six months ago Abby received a message from Mara. Abby cried as she read the message and three months later it still hurt. It was three months shy of Mara being gone for two years. Things didn't get better, Molly was crushed and heartbroken so she threw herself into work. Abby rarely saw her mother and when they did see each other they didn't speak. In many ways Molly blamed Abby for what happened, and Abby knew that even though it was never openly said. Abby tried to go back to work and forget like Mara begged her to but it was too hard. Cole came around once a week to check to make sure the two remaining Harrison woman were still alive. But Abby couldn't take it anymore.

It was August 27th when Abby did the unthinkable.

With shaking hands she dialed a number she swore she never would. She wanted her sister back in the worst way, she and their mother needed her. Mara was the missing link, the one that kept everyone sane.

Abby held the phone to her ear as she leaned against the kitchen counter. It rang three times before it was answered, "Hello?"

Abby's breath hitched in her throat, "Dad, I-I need your help."

**Very short but working towards what happened to Mara. Enjoy!  
-Cryo**


	23. Chapter 23

Twenty One:

It was September 2nd when everything changed.

Mara woke up that morning like it was a normal day. She went about her daily routine, taking a shower in the morning, dressing, eating breakfast with Khan, and going to look at the tubes.

She was in the basement of the building when it happened.

The threats of rebellion were just rumors. She knew Khan would quickly end any rebellion that started before it did any damage. But this one was different. Khan became more demanding that the tubes be ready in case they needed to be used. When Mara asked why they would use them Khan refused to answer. The idea of a rebellion seemed trivial, no matter how much faith Mara had in her race she knew they wouldn't be able to withstand Khan's family.

Mara tried to shove the thoughts from her mind as she wiped her hands off on a rag. She was humming a song under her breath when the door opened. Mara didn't hear it open or shut but she did hear the voice that followed.

"Maggie."

Her head shot up and turned. Only one person in her life ever called her Maggie. Mara's eyes widened when she realized who was standing there in the dim lighting.

It was Abby.

Abby looked as if she aged ten years in the two that they were separated from each other. Her once bright and cheery green eyes were dark and sleep deprived. She looked exhausted and broken.

Abby rushed to Mara and threw her arms around her older sister. Mara hesitated and looked around to make sure no one was watching before she hugged her sister back. Abby was crying into Mara's hair as she held her tightly. Mara sighed and stroked her sister's back, "Abby you shouldn't be here."

Abby pulled away with a horrified expression on her face, "What do you mean?! I'm here to save you!"

"Abby keep your voice down," Mara's eyes darted to the door then back to Abby, "I'm okay but you won't be if they catch you."

"Mara we have to get out of here," Abby urged as she took her sister's hand, "The mob broke into the building and will buy us time to get out."

This would end horribly Mara knew it. If they were caught they ran the risk of being killed. Mara shook her hand from Abby's and stopped, "Abby if we're caught this could end horribly. Please don't do this go home!"

"I can't go home!" Abby suddenly yelled. Tears were threatening to run down her face, "Mom can't even handle being home or talking to me. Cole comes around but it's never the same. We need you Mara you hold us all together!"

Mara placed her hands on Abby's shoulders, "Abby, you have to go home. This is only going to end badly. Please go home."

Abby saw the look of pleading in Mara's eyes and bowed her head, "Mara, I've done something else."

Mara's eyes went dark, "Abby what did you do."

A dark chuckle echoed through the room. Mara stopped and froze, she knew that laugh. She turned towards the laugh and stopped. A dark figure stepped out from the shadows.

"Dad," Mara breathed as she let go of Abby.

John Harrison stood in the basement looking twice his age. Mara took a step towards her father with a horrified expression on her face. His once dark hair was all gray and he had bags under his eyes.

John looked at his eldest daughter and smiled softly. She looked so grown up, Mara was 28 but he could still see his little girl with pigtail braids and scraped knees. He held out his arms, "I'm sorry Mara."

"I'm sorry?" Mara couldn't believe her ears. Never in her life did her father apologize for any of the pain he inflicted towards her.

"I'm sorry Mara for everything. Abby called me and told me what happened, I'm here to help. Please just let me in," there was a pleading in his voice that Mara never heard before.

Mara hesitated but took a step towards her father. After a few moments she let her father hug her for the first time in ten years. John held his eldest daughter to his chest and rocked her back and forth while Abby smiled. For once it seemed as if they were a real family again.

Then the door slid open. John looked up and saw Khan standing there wide eyed and crazed. An evil smirk formed on his face as he reached for something while he stroked his daughter's hair, "I love you sweetie."

_**Bang.**_

Mara heard Abby's scream before she felt the pain. She staggered away from her father and looked down at what he was holding.

It was a gun.

Her hand went to her stomach as a hot wet spot began to form. She looked down in horror when she saw the blood. Her hand was covered, covered in her own blood. Mara fell to the ground.

"What have you done?!" Both Khan and Abby screamed in unison. Abby rushed to her sister and pulled her into her lap while Khan stormed over to John.

John Harrison looked at his eldest daughter lying on the ground in a now forming pool of her own blood. His hand was shaking, he meant to aim for Khan but missed and hit Mara in her abdomen. Khan was soon upon him taking the man to the ground and grabbed his head.

"You should have Killed me when you had the chance," He hissed. Slowly he began to squeeze John's head. He watched the light leave the scientist's eyes as he crushed his skull. It was the moment Khan was waiting for and having the blood of John Harrison on his hands made him feel complete.

"K-khan," Abby choked.

Khan turned his attention back to Mara who was lying on the ground. He walked over to her and took Mara's hand. Mara forced a smile as she looked up at them, "W-well i-isn't this a n-nice family, reunion."

Khan stroked Mara's cheek, "It's going to be all right."

Abby was crying harder now and rocking back and forth, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault."

Mara used some of her remaining strength to look at her baby sister. She forced a smile as she began to taste blood, "I-I would have don-done the same thing."

Mara felt the pain of the bullet in her stomach. She was dying; that much was for sure. The world was growing darker and colder as Abby rocked her back and forth. The movement was only hurting her more but Mara let her sister do it. Mara wanted to hold Khan's hand but she was losing strength. She looked up at Khan as a tear ran down her cheek, "K-khan I-I'm scared. E-everything's so-so cold."

Khan looked down at the woman he loved. Mara was the only person he ever loved truly.

He would be damned if he let her die.

He heard the mob advancing the towards the basement where they hid the tubes. Khan looked up at Abby who was still cradling Mara's dying body, "We have one chance to save her. Lock the main door and stand guard."

Abby nodded and gently slid Mara onto the ground. Khan bent down and carefully picked up Mara. She let out a groan as he carried her over to one of the cryotubes. Khan typed in the code and laid her down. He bent down and kissed her cold lips quickly, "I love you. Sleep well we will see eachother soon."

Mara looked over to where Abby was standing. Her eyes were wide and she looked scared, "I love-I love you b-both."

Khan shut the tube and turned to Abby, "We have to get the rest of my family into the tubes and smuggle them out. Our ship is outside the city we can go there and flee."

Abby pointed to the tube, "What have you done to her?"

"I put her in the tubes to preserve brain function until she can get proper medical care. Now will you help me or not?!" Khan's voice was powerful and seemingly nervous.

Abby nodded, "I'll help you if you promise me one thing, no matter where or when she wakes up you keep her safe Khan Noonien Singh."

Khan nodded as he pulled the alarm, "I promise."

**I have been waiting to write this chapter for so long, please don't kill me!  
-Cryo **


	24. Chapter 24

Twenty Two:

-On the Enterprise-

Mara's hand tell to her stomach as Khan finished his story. The whole med bay was focusing on the pair as they sat there in utter silence. Mara put her hands on her knees and shook her head, "That's- that's a lot to take in."

Khan nodded as Bones walked over to him to take a blood sample. As Bones took the needle away the ship jerked forward causing Mara to be thrown from her seat to the ground. Khan was thrown against the other examination table while Bones fell beside Mara. The guards staggered but didn't lose their footing.

"What the hell was that?!" Bones yelled as he helped Mara to her feet. Khan scowled as he watched the doctor touch Mara's arm and her back.

"Klingon's, their the only ones with cannons of that magnitude," Khan said simply.

Mara arched an eyebrow, "A what?"

"An alien race who is very fond of fighting the Federation," Bones answered as he took out three phasers, "You two take these, their set to stun don't change it. Mara have you fired anything like this before?"

Mara nodded as she looked down at the small silver gun. It looked like a pistol but smaller and lighter, "Once or twice."

"Good let's go to the bridge and see what's going on," Khan and Mara followed Bones towards the ran down twisting white hallways as people in gold, red, and blue shirts rushed past them. The trio ran into the bridge and was confronted with chaos.

"Captain what's going on?" Bones yelled.

"What does it look like Bones?!" Kirk snapped, "Mr. Sulu bost shields, Chekov how's the core?"

"Iz not kood cabtian I need more people," a voice with a slight Russian accent filled the room.

Mara took a step forward, "Captain Kirk, I know a bit about space engineering is there anything I can do?"

Kirk looked up at Mara and smirked. He admired her eagerness to help people that she just knew. Waking up 300 years in the future would be hard for anyone but Mara was taking it extremely well, "Alright Harrison you and Khan head down to engineering and start working on getting the core back to 100 percent."

"Captian is it truly wise to send Khan down to the core of our ship?" Spock asked.

Mara turned towards the Vulcan man. She saw a few before she was frozen and knew their kind to be extremely intelligent and made every decision based on logic. Kirk turned towards Mara. His bright blue eyes looked desperate, "You know him best Harrison, should we trust him."

_Should we trust him?_

Mara didn't even know how to answer that. Before she woke up her answer would have been yes. But now knowing everything he did Mara wasn't sure. She looked over at Khan for a moment who was looking forward at Kirk with such disdain. Mara let out a long sigh, "You can trust him."

"Alright you two head down to engineering, Khan I'm sure you know the way," Khan nodded and quickly turned turned towards one of the turbo lifts. Mara followed him into the small enclosed space and stood next to him arms folded over her chest.

The door slid shut on the two. Khan punched in the number for engineering and the lift began to descend. Mara kept her arms folded over her chest as the two stood there in silence. Neither knew what to say to each other. Khan stood tall and proud with his hands grasped firmly behind his back. There was a sense of dominance that Mara rarely saw before. But it was there now, and it seemed to be the permanent fixture in Khan's life. He was darker and more demanding than she remembered. Even standing there Mara saw every muscle tensed in perfect discipline, he was lethal and dangerous.

"Engineering is the lowest part of the ship we must be careful. The Klingons could have already infiltrated the ship stay close to me," he was curt and to the point. He raised his phaser and stepped off the lift.

Mara nodded and followed Khan into the dark engineering bay. Mara had to jog to keep up with Khan's long determined strides. Another shot hit the shields and rocked the ship causing Mara to almost fall. Khan quickly grabbed Mara's arm stabilizing her.

"Thanks," Mara muttered as Khan released her. His intense gaze poured into her and the air became thicker between them.

"I'm sorry," Khan said as he stared down at her.

Mara shook her head and continued walking towards the Russian voice, "We'll talk once we're safe."

He followed her without saying anything. They wove their way through eils of computers until they came to an alcove where the voice was. A young man with short brown curly hair in red shirt looked up. He was wearing goggles over his eyes and as sweating, "Who are you?"

"Mara Harrison and Khan, the Captain sent us," Mara explained.

He nodded eagerly, "Yes yes of course, Pavel Chekov chief engineer. I need zou to go down to ze lower level and turn on ze manual override."

"Alright, we'll be back soon," Mara reassured him and followed Khan to the back of the engineering bay. The pair climbed down a flight of stairs until they reached a darker level lit only by a few red lights.

"The manual override should be in the back left corner go turn it on," Khan ordered.

Mara nodded and lowered her phaser as she walked to the override. The room was dimly lit and Mara had trouble seeing. She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting but failed. A few minutes of near blind searching Mara located the override and began to type furiously on the keys. Luckily for her while it advanced substantially technology was still in many ways the same. Her fingers flew across the keys making soft ticking noises as she reset the override.

"Khan I fixed the manual overid-" Mara was cut off by a hand clasping itself over her mouth. It jerked Mara's head back as she felt an arm wrap around Mara's waist pinning her small form against a larger one. Mara's eyes flew to the figure holding her as her eyes went wide. Holding her was an alien she never saw before with a ridged forehead, deep brown skin, and bright gray eyes. It was pinning her arms to her side as it smirked.

"Federation scum," it muttered. Mara's eyes darted around the room desperately searching for anyone who could help. The alien chuckled darkly as he lowered his mouth to her ear, "There is no one to help you."

In a fit of desperation Mara bit down on his fingers. He let out a hiss and quickly moved his hand away. Mara took the few moments of freedom to scream, "Khan!"

"Federation bitch," the alien muttered as he turned Mara and slapped her. Mara's head jerked to the side as her hair fell out and she started to taste blood from her now split lip. The alien, that Mara now suspected to be a Klingon, kept a firm grip on her arm as he smirked, "Lets see you try that-"

Out of nowhere Khan grabbed the Klingon's head and twisted it roughly. A loud crack echoed in the room as the now dead Klingon dropped to the floor. His hand was still on Mara and threatened to bring her down with him. But Khan reached out and Mara into his arms and held her close to him.

"I'm starting to get tired of rushing to save you every time you trip," Khan muttered bitterly as he held Mara to his chest.

"Shut up Khan ," she muttered. For a moment Mara allowed herself to enjoy the hug. She took in his masculine scent that demanded attention while his arms held her. It was true what Bones and Kirk were talking about; Mara, a normal human, was Khan's weakness. No matter what when she called he came rushing to her aid and saved her. Ever since they were children he was her protector even now 300 years later he was still rushing to save her.

They broke away from each other, Khan stood looking down at her while Mara crossed her arms over her chest. Khan broke the look and turned his head, "You need to learn how to defend yourself because I won't be there to protect you all the time."

There was a darkness to his voice that wasn't there before. Mara took a step towards him, "Khan, what are you planning?"

His hands clenched into fists, "I am going to make Starfleet suffer for keeping my family from me," he slowly turned towards Mara and she saw the dark look in his eyes, "I am going to destroy the Starfleet Admiral Marcus for exploiting my savagery and holding my family as ransom. I am going to crush his skull and watch the light leave his eyes then once he is dead I am going to walk over his cold dead corpse and use the ship he forced me to build to destroy everything he held dear."

His voice held a deadly promise. Mara hesitated but took a step towards Khan reaching out her now shaking hand and rested it on his arm, "Khan, please don't. You are better than this, bargain with Kirk for your family. Death is not the answer."

He shoved Mara against the wall and held her arms firmly to her side. Khan lowered his head so their faces were only inches apart. Anger for the Admiral that used him, the lust for revenge for his family, and the fear of being alone hung in his eyes. The iron grip Khan had on her arms was starting to form bruises, "For a year I lived among these idiotic humans forced to act like one of them while I was forced to work for information about my family. _**My family**_ that could rip these humans in half were being dangled above my nose like I was a child. You know nothing of the pain I went through, I will kill whomever I see fit until I have my family back."

Mara was terrified. She tried to hold back the look of fear that was now very present on her face but it was close to impossible. Never in the time she knew Khan had Mara seen him display so much emotion. His family was his life, he dedicated so much time and effort into keeping them safe from harm. But Mara came to the painful realization that while Khan fought for his family, she didn't fall into that category. She was a human, Khan's enemy in every way shape and form.

Bravely Mara jutted her jaw out and looked up, "I will not stand by and watch you kill people, _**my**_ people."

"They are not your people. You people died 300 years ago along with your spinless mother, brash sister, and pathetic father. They only want you to have an advantage over me," he hissed.

Mara refused to let herself cry. The comment tour at her heart but Mara put on a brave face, "I chose to side with them because they are the only ones who have shown me kindness since I woke up. The first thing I thought of when I woke was you, how you weren't there and how the last thing I remembered was your eyes," she shook her head, "Now I'm wishing I remembered your sadistic ways."

"And why's that Margarete?" Khan hissed as his intense gaze poured into her dark green eyes.

"Because doing this would be easier," Mara roughly thrusted her knee into his groin. Khan let out a low groan as he released her and hunched over in pain. Mara took her chance and ran to where she dropped her phaser. She grabbed it and pointed the small phaser at him and pulled the trigger.

It didn't have any affect on him. Khan stood and stalked towards Mara as she shot at him several more times. He slapped the phaser out of Mara's hands then backed her against the wall holding her wrists above her head in one of his powerful hands. Khan leaned down and spoke in a harsh husky tone, "You were always so quick to see past my flaws. I am not human Mara, get it through your thick skull."

"But you are not this evil man you turned into," Mara pleaded, "Don't kill the Admiral unless necessary. Please Khan, don't become what they expect you to."

He let her go and Mara dropped to the floor at his feet. He turned his head and scowled, "I will do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of my family. Stand in my way and I cannot ensure your safety."

Mara stood bravely, "If you go through with this then I will stand with Kirk and his crew, I will fight with them, and I will die if I have to. I refuse to let you turn into what they think you are."

The ship was shot again causing Khan and Mara to lose their footing. Mara braced herself against one of the consoles while Khan regained his balance on his own. She glared at him as Kirk's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Khan, Harrison you better get up here now."


	25. Chapter 25

Twenty Three:

"Admiral Marcus I wasn't expecting you," Kirk smirked, "That's hell of a ship you've got there."

Mara and Khan walked slowly into the bridge. Bones held out his arm to keep the two out of sight of the Admiral on the screen. Kirk looked as if he was on edge as the Admiral spoke, "And I wasn't expecting to hear you took Harrison into custody."

"Well thing's change when a patrol of Klingons attack then your ship is attacked, that's why you're here right, to help with our repairs?"

The aging Admiral leaned back as he let out a long sigh, "You see son, your journey ends here. To be honest, I didn't believe you were going to live this long so congratulations on exceeding my expectations. Pike was right, you can pull off the impossible."

Kirk smiled and shifted in the captain's chair, "So, you sent us to the edge of the neutral zone in the hopes it would spark the war Khan said you were so hungry for. Strange plan Admiral but I gotta say, I believe it worked."

The admiral groaned and rubbed his eyes, "Dammit you talked to him. This is what I was trying to avoid, have you woken any other up."

For a moment Kirk and Mara made eye contact for a moment. She pleaded with him not to tell the Admiral she was awake. Kirk turned back to the screen, "No sir."

Mara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Bones looked down at her wondering what would happen to her when they got back to Starfleet Headquarters. He was starting to like the girl, she was quick witted and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.

"He's a killer Kirk, did he tell you that he was working to help his 'family'? He's a brilliant mastermind Kirk he's playing you," the Admiral was pleading now. His plan was exposed in the worse setting possible, on the edge of the neutral zone with one of his Captains.

"Just like you've been sir," Kirk's voice was laced with hate.

The admiral let out a long sigh, "Either you hand him over or we'll make sure you don't get back to Earth."

Kirk simply shook his head, "I'm taking him back to Earth to see that he gets justice for what he did, just followin' protocol, sir."

"Is that your final decision?" Admiral Marcus asked as he leaned back.

"Yes sir."

Marcus let out a long sigh, "Pike told me you were one of the best, shame he was wrong."

The hail ended and Kirk stood from his chair. He turned towards Mara who had been watching the whole ordeal with great interest. Before she went in the tube they were perfecting hails but seeing one in action intrigued her, "Harrison what's the status of the core?"

"It's up and running sir," she hesitated telling him the last part, "Um we ran into a Klingon in the lower levels of engineering. It attacked me but Khan, took care of it per say."

Kirk smirked and nodded, "Good job Harrison," he didn't address Khan but turned to the two people in gold shirts sitting in front of his chair, "Mr. Sulu are we ready to wrap?"

Mr. Sulu nodded, "Putting her into warp now sir."

"Excellent, Bones take Khan back to the medbay, Harrison walk with me." Mara nodded and followed after Kirk while Khan followed Bones.

The two stepped into the turbolift and Kirk shut the door. He didn't choose any destination he just stood there, "I want to make sure you're not going to betray us the first chance you get."

His tone was curt and Mara could tell he was going through an inner battle of morals, "I am human," Mara started and sighed, "I don't fully trust Khan right now. He's not the person I knew 300 years ago. Please, trust me and give me the chance to help you stop him."

Kirk studied her eyes, "What aren't you telling me?"

Her blood ran cold. She could either betray Khan or keep his plans secrete and live with the guilt of deceiving Kirk. She sighed as she looked down, "He didn't tell me he just told me it would be big."

"Thank you for your honesty Harrison," Kirk pressed the button for the medbay, "Go with Bones for now if I need you I'll let you know."

The door opened and Mara eagerly stepped out. She walked down the hallway into the med bay where Khan was sitting erect on the examination table while Bones sat at his desk. Mara glared at Khan as she walked over to Bones and sat down in the chair in front of him. Bones looked up as Mara sighed.

"What's the matter Harrison, you want another sandwich?" He smirked and offered her another BLT.

"I'll split this one with you," Mara took half while Bones took the other, "Can you check people's files?"

Bones nodded, "Even dead ones?" She asked.

Again Bones nodded. Mara looked up eagerly and sat on the edge of her chair, "Can you look up Abigail Harrison?"

Bones stuck his sandwich into his mouth and bit down while he nodded and typed on his keyboard, "Alright is she a blonde or a red head?"

"Blond," Mara answered as Bones ushered her over. Mara carried her chair over and sat beside Bones. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her sister's dossier. She read through the report noting that Abby got married when she was 27 to someone named Richard Jarvis. Mara cursed herself for not being there to be Abby's maid of honor.

"Damn Harrison this is your sister?" Mara nodded and Bones smirked, "She's a five star Starfleet Admiral, one of the first!"

Mara leaned back and smirked, "I knew she would finally grow up."

She continued reading noting that Abby had three kids, Michael, Tommy, and Mara. Her heart swelled knowing Abby actually did name one of her kids after her. But Mara stopped at Abby's death date; she died when she was forty. Her kids were only 10, 9 and, 7 and were left without a mom.

"I'm sorry Mara," Bones whispered when he saw Mara's eyes.

She shook her head, "It's alright. It's just weird you know, it's like reading a book but it's someone's life- my baby sister's life."

"Be proud, don't mourn Harrison is a bad look for you," Bones was cut but had a joking tone to his voice.

Mara smiled and let out a sigh, "I guess you're right."

Bones went to answer when the ship jerked to the side violently. He kept Mara and himself balance as a man wearing a red shirt came rushing into the medbay, "We've been thrown out of warp!"

**So I'm thinking about throwing a little twist into this, but we'll see.**

**-Cryo**


	26. Chapter 26

**I own nothing but Mara. Thank you all so much for sticking with me on this. Your comments mean the world to me and keep me going. I know you want more of the past and there will be a few more chapters based off the past. I was thinking about doing a spin off of this focusing on Abby's life after Mara was put in the tube. Tell me what you guys think!**

Enjoy! 

* * *

Twenty four:

"What do you mean man?" Bones asked as he stood.

The engineer shook his head, "I don't know sir, the Captain's coming."

Moment's later Kirk stormed into the medbay with his sights set on Khan. Kirk stood in front of Khan, "Tell me everything you know about that ship."

"Dreadnought class," Khan began as if he was simply telling his name, "Two times the size, three times the speed with advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew unlike most federation ships it is designed for combat."

I will do everything I can to make you answer for what you did. But right now I need your help, "Kirk truly sounded desperate.

Silence hung in the room. The only noise was the machines beeping on the walls. Mara sat looking at the two men confused and nervous. The next voice was Khans, "And what do I get in return?"

"You said you would do anything for your crew," Kirk bega, "I can guarantee their safety and Mara's."

"Captain," Khan's voice was cold and unforgiving, "You can't even guarantee the safety of your own crew."

Kirk shifted his weight from foot to foot, "You're right, but I will do everything I can to protect them if you do one thing for me. Help me, and I will help you."

Khan stood, "Fine, shall we Captian?" Khan started to the door and Kirk went to follow.

Mara turned to Bones once the two were gone, "I have an awful feeling abou this."

Bones nodded, "You and me both."

Two men dressed in red shirts came in and roughly grabbed Mara. She looked at them with a terrified expression, "What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry miss," one of them answered, "Captain's orders."

Bones stood, "Who authorized this?" He followed them as they dragged Mara to the brig. She kicked and thrashed her arms trying desperately to get out of their iron grasp.

"Commander Spock he said we are to keep her under lock down and sedated until Captain Kirk returns," they shoved her into the glass cell.

Mara rushed to the glass and slammed her fists. A beeping noise went off and suddenly the room smelt like her mothers cinnamon rolls. Mara felt her head start to get fuzzy as she tried to force herself to stay awake. The gas was starting to make Mara slip in and out of consciousness. The last thing she heard before totally slip out was Bones calling to her.

"My head," Mara muttered as her eyes fluttered open. She was in her mother's apartment lying on the white couch. The TV was playing Good Morning America while a pot of coffee brewed in the kitchen. She blinked and looked around, everything was like she remembered it. Mara slowly sat up holding her head and looked down, she was still dressed in her Starfleet uniform.

"Easy there tiger," a familiar voice joked.

Mara turned towards the kitchen. A very much grown up Abby was standing there holding two cups coffee in their favorite mugs. She looked so old, so grown up. Abby was dressed in a gray pressed suit with perfectly polished black shoes, and a tiny silver insignia on her left breast. A gray admiral's hat sat on top of her blond hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. There were bags under her green eyes and she made smile lines on the corners of her mouth.

"Am I dead?" Mara asked as Abby handed her the blue Avenger's mug she adored so much.

Abby's laughter filled the room as she sat down across from Mara in their mother's purple chair, "No but I am."

Mara took a sip of coffee then held her mug between her hands. She was sitting facing Abby who had one leg crossed over the other with perfect posture, "It's been a long time Maggie."

A small smile tugged on the corners of Mara's lips, "You look pretty good for being dead what, 300 years?"

Abby shook her head, "260, I died when I was forty," Abby set down her mug then rested her hands on the arms of her chair.

Mara shook her head finding it hard to believe her little sister who was long dead was sitting in front of her, "What is this, are you an angel?"

Abby shrugged, "You're not far off, I'm just a figment of your imagination that you've conjured while you're under the chemically induced sleep."

"That, for some reason that makes no sense," Mara muttered.

"Why not? It's logical, something that you would have come up with," Abby leaned forward and took a sip of her coffee, "Or would you prefer I call myself your guardian angel and we make this meeting a fairy tale?"

"Call me insane but I like that one better," Mara muttered as she looked around the apartment. Everything appeared to the the same since the day she left it. The towel she was using to dry off was still lying on the floor in the hall, "How did you die?"

Abby smiled fondly as she leaned back resting her hands on her lap while she placed her elbows on the arms of the chair, "Like every good Starfleet Admiral I went down with my ship. We were attacked by, oh god 260 years later and my memory is failing me, oh Borg, wry basterds. Yes we were attacked by the Borg and I couldn't get my ship away. So I order my crew to evacuate and I stayed."

"Jesus Abby, but you had a family and three young kids!" Mara declared as she sat back trying to wrap her head around the whole thing.

"I know," Abby nodded and smiled softly at Mara, "But I once had a sister who taught me that the best way to show someone that they love them is to sacrifice everything to save them. If I didn't do what I did then the Borg would have followed the ship back to Earth and my children would have paid the price," she took a sip of coffee then continued, "I don't regret doing what I did. Sure I missed my kids growing up and that was the hardest part, but I did what I had to. Besides, Richie was a fantastic father and I got to say my goodbyes before the end."

Mara shook her head, "Mom must have been devastated."

"I'm sure she was, but she died a year after I did," Abby saw Mara's eyes widen with shock and she smiled softly, "It was peaceful, she told me all about it. She wanted to be here today but your bond with me was strongest."

"I don't understand," Mara started as he looked into her sister's eyes, "How are you here?"

Abby smiled softly, "Simply, I had unfinished business, I wanted to say thank you and that I love you," she took something out of her pocket a handed it to Mara, "These are my babies."

Mara looked down at the picture. Abby had her arm wrapped around a man with short red hair in a pair of yellow swim trunks. Three kids were standing at their feet; one was a tall boy with blond hair and blue eyes holding a bucket, the next was a boy sitting in front of them with big green eyes and red hair holding up a starfish he was in matching blue swim trunks and the last was a little girl with pin straight dark hair and blue eyes. She was in a pink bathing suit with tiny watermelons on it and a white skirt.

Abby smiled fondly, "That's Richie, my little blond boy is Michael, Tommy has his father's red hair and my little princess Mara. She looks so much like you."

"She does," Mara smiled. The little girl was holding her father's hand and smiling at the camera. She handed the picture back to Abby who took it and slipped it back into the pocket of her uniform, "Whatever happened to Cole?"

"Ah Cole, well he came around for a bit after you well died. But then we just stopped seeing him. Never found out what happened to him," Abby sighed, "Mom was devastated when you died."

Mara arched an eyebrow, "You told her I died?"

Abby nodded, "What was I suppose to do? Tell her you may or may not come back? It was easier to just tell her you were dead Mar."

"Did you tell her about dad?" Mara knew it must have been hard on their mother. To lose one daughter so young then lose the other the way she did. She suddenly felt guilty for not being there.

Abby sensed Mara's guilt and shook her head, "She didn't need to know. Mara don't feel bad for not being there. You had no choice it was either go in the tube or die."

Mara's head dropped into her hands as she began to cry, "I don't belong in this time Abby. I don't belong in this uniform I don't belong on this ship I don't belong in any of this! I should have died in that basement."

"Listen to me right now Margaret Harrison," Abby sat on the edge of her seat and pointed a finger at Mara, "You were not meant to die that day Khan and I made sure of that. What happened to me is not your fault, what happened to Mom is not your fault. People die Maggie," Abby got softer and moved so she was sitting next to Mara. She rested a hand on her shoulder, "At some point we all die. It's a part of living, it's the only thing certain in our lives. You can't sit there fretting over the past, the past is done. You have an opportunity to make a life for yourself, and for Khan if you want that."

Mara lifted her head and looked at her sister. Abby was smiling as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, "I don't regret dying to save my children. I knew what I was doing. Mom didn't hate you, or me, for dying before her. She loved us, we loved you. But you were never meant to die 300 years ago. You wanted to see the stars Mara, and now you can," Abby looked down as tears ran down her cheeks, "A brave person once told me not to throw my life away," she looked up, "And now I'm telling you the same thing. Please for heaven's sake don't get caught up in what could have been because there is a future right outside this haze waiting for you. Please, for mom and me, go out and live your life the way you always wished you could."

Mara hugged her sister tightly. Abby hesitated but hugged Mara back as she felt their time together starting to come to a close. Mara smiled as she rubbed her baby sister's back, "When did you get so philosophical."

"I grew up with you and Khan, I had to be in order to survive you two," Abby joked as the two let go of each other. Abby sighed and checked her watch, "Well it's about time I head off. People to see, places to be you know how it goes."

Mara stood, "Wait where are you going."

Abby stood and put on her cap with a smile, "I'm going to see my husband and kids."

"Will I see you again?" Mara asked.

A small smile appeared on Abby's face, "One day, when you're done with all your adventures you'll see me. But you really should be heading back you've been out for about two hours now. Don't look so shocked time works differently here," Abby took her mug and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Mara called as she ran after her sister.

Abby stopped and turned. She stood at attention and saluted her sister with a smirk. Mara mimicked the motion and returned the smile, "Bye Abbs."

"This isn't goodbye, it's sort of like an extended 'see you later'," she smiled, "Good luck Mara. I'll see you when you're ready."

**This was by far one of the most emotional things I've ever written. I hope you guys like Mara and Abby's heart to hear- don't worry it won't be the last.  
-Cryo**


	27. Chapter 27

Twenty five:

_**Fire.**_

The smell of fire and the sound of people screaming filled Mara's scrunched her nose as slowly Mara woke up from the chemically induced sleep she was under. Mara slowly sat up rubbing her head as her eyes struggled to focus.

"Mara, Mara Harrison!" She heard Bones yelling for her. Mara squinted trying to make out the blue form banging on the glass. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet and staggered over to the glass. After a moment of concentration she recognized a familiar pair of brown eyes.

"B-Bones?" Her words were slurring.

Bones had one of the engineers open the door and Mara fell out limply into his arms. She was still heavily under the sedative Spock choice to use for her, "Careful killer," Bones tried to get her to stand but Mara's legs buckled and threatened to fall. He picked her up bridal style.

"Abby, coffee, tubs, fire, save tubes," her eyes were rolling back into her head as one of her hands reached hip touching Bone's cheek.

"Shit she's having a reaction to the sedative. You get Lt. Uhara and tell her to bring some antibiotics and an AED to the escape pods now!" Bones yelled as he wove his way through the chaos. Kirk and Khan failed, the three minutes they had to shut down Marcus's weapons were up and the Vengeance started to tear apart the Enterprise. The whole ship was up in flames in a matter of minutes. Spock ordered everyone to the escape pods while he tried to get in contact with Kirk.

So far nothing worked. She reached up again as Bones looked down at her. Mara's eyes rolled back into place and she was licking her lips, "S-save th-the pods."

"Are you crazy?!" Bones was shocked. Here she was dying and the only thing she was worried about was saving Khan's crew.

A small lopsided smile appeared on her face, "I've been told I was."

Uhara ran over with antibiotics, "I couldn't find the AED but I have this."

Mara shook her head. She was starting to come to her senses and was getting feeling back in her limbs, "No, please I'm fine," Bones tried to put Mara down and she stabilized herself on his shoulder.

"Lt. Uhara, meet Dr. Mara Harrison," Bones introduced the two women.

Uhara smiled and shook Mara's hand, "I wish this was under better circumstances Dr. Harrison but we have to get to the escape pods."

"Just Mara is fine," she muttered as she shook Uhara's hand, "But I can't leave without getting the pods to safety."

"Why?" Bones asked as Mara took off towards engineering. Around her people were screaming and rushing to safety. Boens and Uhara were at her heels trying to keep up with the determined young woman.

Mara looked over her shoulder, "If I don't save those pods then this ship going down is the last thing we'll have to worry about."

Uhara and Bones exchanged confused looks but followed her. The trio ran down to the lower levels of engineering where the torpedos were being kept. Mara arched an eyebrow in confusion as she looked down at one of the torpedos, "Bones do these have a GPS?"

"Of course they do," Bones scoffed as another explosion rocked the ship. They nearly lost their footing and Mara had to hold onto the torpedo. She stood and flipped open the computer while Bones tugged on her arm, "We have to get out of here."

"Help me type in cordiance of the closest planet and set it so all of them go there then I'll go," Mara yelled over the rumbling.

Uhara and Bones exchanged looks but helped her program the torpedoes. Stood once they were done knowing that Khan's family would be safe. Bones grabbed her hand, "Alright mother Teresa let's get out of here."

Mara nodded as another explosion ripped through the sip. Bones pulled Mara along with him as the trio ran towards the escape pods. Fire ripped through the ship as Uhara ran to the escape pod. She jumped into the one where Spock and Sulu were sitting. Bones got in after her as another exposition knocked Mara off her feet. She felt something cut into her leg as Bones pulled her into the escape pod.

"Harrison does the sight of blood make you faint?" Bones asked as he stared down at the deep gash in her leg.

Hesitantly Mara looked down at the blood that was now slipping out of the gash. She felt herself growing faint as she held her leg, "Oh, that's not good."

They were too late.

Khan knew it when they reached the bridge. Marcus was already giving the order to fire when they stormed the bridge. Before Kirk could stun the crew they already started the assault on the Enterprise. Carol helped them disarm her father and helped Kirk drag him off to the brig while Khan and Scotty worked on transporting Khan's crew to the cargo bay.

But he was missing one.

_Mara._

Khan watched the Enterprise burst into flames before his eyes. He felt as if his heart was being pulled from his chest. Love was a weakness, one that was starting to take it's toll on Khan. He pressed a hand to one of the small windows and watched the ship he so longed to destroy was being ripped apart before his very eyes.

With the only woman he ever loved on board.

The engineer that helped them, Scotty, walked over to the window and watched as the Enterprise went down, "They got to the pods mate," he rested a hand on Khan's shoulder.

Kirk and Carol came back moments later. Kirk saw the destruction of his ship and ran to the captain's chair. He sat down as Scotty nearly dragged Khan away from the window so they could take their places to fly the ship.

"Carol try hailing Mr. Spock," Kirk ordered. He was on edge as Carol typed the command. Khan's attention was still on the now falling ship. He saw small pods falling towards the planet below and he could only hope that Mara was in one of the pods.

After few failed attempts Carol shook her head, "No one's answering Captain."

Both Khan and Kirk's hearts dropped. They made eye contact for a moment before Khan spoke, "What appear to be pods are falling to the planet surface below. We should dock there and see if we can locate the crew."

Kirk nodded, "Carol set the course."

Khan turned back to his screen as his hands clenched into fists. If they were only ten seconds earlier they could have saved the ship and he would know Mara was safe. He cursed himself for the way they ended their last conversation. He didn't kill the Admiral because he knew if he did, Mara would never forgive him. No matter what he said to her, Khan still loved that woman. He loved her antics and how she stood up for her people. If she was dead, he would never forgive himself. He thought he lost her once, he would be dammed if this was the time he truly would lose her.

Kirk noticed Khan's change. He was prepared to arrest Khan as soon as they were done with Marcus but Khan simply took out three engineers and stood guarding the door. Kirk knew why the sudden change came though, Khan was acting this way for Mara. Though he was concerned about his crew Kirk was just as concerned about Mara. When they got back to Earth he would do two things; make sure Khan saw justice along with Marcus for their actions and he would make Mara a permanent fixture in his crew.

If he still even had a crew.

Slowly the Vengeance lowered itself onto the desert planet below. They powered the ship down and looked around at the debris surrounding them. They managed to land right in the crash sight.

Kirk and Khan were the first ones off. As they walked down the ship's ramp members of Kirk's grew were climbing out of their pods. Kirk noticed Bones and Spock climbing out of one of the pods. Something was hanging limply in Bone's arms though.

Khan noticed what it was before Kirk did. He took off sprinting over to Bones, "GIve her to me!" He shouted.

Bones slowly placed Mara's limp body into Khan's arms. There was a deep cut in her tigh and a belt was wrapped tightly around her leg just above the wound. Her chest was barely moving as Khan held her soft body to his chest.

"She lost a lot of blood," Bone's voice seemed to be robbed of emotion. In the few hours that he knew Mara he started to like her.

Khan looked down at her face. She had scrapes on her left cheekbone and there was soot on her forehead along with a few small cuts on her jaw. He cradled her body to his chest as he took a few steps away from the rest of the crew.

"How did this happen?" Khan's voice was dark.

Bones looked over at Kirk who nodded signally for him to continue, "She tried to save your torpedoes and we were a little late to the escape pods. I was able to pull her in just in time but she was already wounded."

Khan moved a stray curl from her face and caressed her cheek. He sat down and cradled her to his chest. Kirk watched the out of character display of emotion from Khan unsure what to even do. He took a step towards him, "We have to get her on the ship or else she could die."

Khan looked down at Mara's paling face. Her breathing was starting to weaken by the minute. With a curt nod Khan stood and carried Mara's limp body back towards the ship with Bones and Kirk following him. Khan looked down at Mara and whispered, "Please, please don't be dead."


	28. Chapter 28

**Almost done guys! Maybe only 3 or 4 more chapters to go, then the squeal!**

* * *

Twenty six:

Bones knew Mara should be dead.

With the amount of blood she lost and since she was still hazy from the gas he expected her to be dead. He took her pulse when they landed on the desert planet and it was barely there. She was cold and her chest was barely moving.

Mara _**shouldn't **_be alive.

He beside Kirk into the Vengeance while Khan carried Mara into the ship. They followed after the superhuman as he carried what Bones was certain a corpse through the dimly lit halls until they reached the medbay. Khan laid Mara down on the examination table then walked over to one of the cabinets searching for something.

Bones shook his head and stepped into the medbay while Kirk stood just outside the door, "We need this area for injured survivors," Khan didn't seem to hear him and just kept searching. Bones took a deep breath suddenly becoming very aggravated, "Khan she's dead god dammit man can't you see?"

"She's not dead," Khan said simply as he took out a basic first aid kit.

Kirk and Bones exchanged confused glances. Of course Mara was dead, Bone took her pulse. She lost too much blood from the wound and moments before Khan was begging her to be alive. Bones turned back to Khan and folded his arms over his chest, "What do you mean she's not dead?"

Khan took a blood sample of himself then held it to the light, "Her chest is moving, barely but it is still moving. Start to bring in injured I will be done in here soon."

Kirk and Bones nodded then left the two alone. Khan took the blood sample and one of Mara's arm then injected her like he did 300 years ago. He lifted Mara's body and carried her towards the sleeping quarters. He pushed the door open and laid Mara down on one of the cots. Khan sat down across from her and waited.

Khan felt helpless just waiting for her to wake up. For a moment Khan second guessed that Mara would even wake up. The wound was starting to heal from his blood and her breathing was starting to return to normal. An hour of waiting rolled by and Khan was still sitting there waiting for her to wake up.

His eyes were starting to get heavy but he remembered a promise he made to Abby 300 years ago. He promised that he would be there when Mara woke up and since he couldn't be the first time, he had to be there. There was a groan that pulled Khan out of his thoughts.

Mara was slowly waking up. She groaned as she slowly sat up rubbing her throbbing head. Khan stood and knelt down next to her and hesitantly raised a hand to caress her cheek. Her green eyes flicked towards him as he leaned forward.

Suddenly he was kissing her with such passion that it nearly took Mara's breath away. If she wasn't lying down her knees would have gone weak with the intensity of his kiss. His hand held a fist full of her dark hair tugging it gently as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He held Mara to him never wanting to let her go. Mara's stomach fluttered as Khan shifted so he was sitting on the cot and pulled her onto his lap.

Mara suddenly felt her stomach flutter as Khan deepened the kiss as he slid his hands from her waist to the bare skin of her thigh. He pulled Mara to him as his hands slid the skirt of her uniform up slowly trying to carry on the intimate feeling as long as he could.

300 years went by without him feeling her against him. Khan hooked his fingers on the waistband of her panties and started to slowly pull them down. Mara moaned softly at the simple feeling of him touching her.

"Oh, well she is alive," Kirk's voice broke the two apart.

Mara jumped and pulled her skirt down while Khan let out an annoyed groan. She cleared her throat and fixed her hair, "Hi Captain."

Kirk nodded but couldn't help but smirk, "We'll be back to Earth in twenty minutes, there you both will be brought to Starfleet headquarters and questioned. I've already told them about Marcus and he will be answering for himself. If I were you two I'd get washed up and ready for questioning because it won't be a quick process."

Mara nodded, "Thanks Kirk."

He smiled, "No problem Harrison," he looked between her and Khan, "As you were."

Kirk rushed out of the room leaving Mara and Khan alone. Mara smirked as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "So we have twenty minutes before we get fed to the wolves."

"Mm let's make the most of it," Khan leaned in but Mara raised her hand and covered his lips with a smirk.

"We need to talk about, us, for a minute," Mara smiled as she took her hand away from Khan's mouth. He leaned back and sat waiting for her to speak. Mara shifted for a moment then sighed, "So you didn't kill Marcus."

Khan shook his head, "I couldn't."

She arched an eyebrow, "Why's that?"

"Because," Khan hesitated. Emotions were weakness, love was weakness, Mara was weakness, but he loved her and he couldn't stop it, "Because if I killed Marcus I would lose you."

"Ah so you do still care about me," she smirked.

Khan scowled, "Was that kiss not proof enough for you woman."

She shook her head, "Nope, but it's glad to know you still care," Mara leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "I love you Khan Noonien Singh."

He caught himself smirking, "I love you too Margaret Harrison."

"Don't call me Margaret."

Khan chuckled darkly as he wrapped an arm around her pulling her down onto the cot, "Now where were we?"


	29. Chapter 29

Twenty Eight:

Khan sat staring out the window of the apartment he used when he worked for Starfleet. The past two days were draining, even for Khan. Once they docked in San Francisco he and Marcus were escorted to cells where they awaited judgment. He was pulled away from Mara too soon thus spawning frustration.

The next two days were a blur. He was dragged to psychiatrist after psychiatrist who tried to figure out what was wrong with him. Then he was put in front of a council that would decide his fate.

_**Five years of rehabilitation. **_

Khan hated the idea. He stared out the window wondering how Mara's trial went. If it wasn't for Kirk telling the council of Marcus's treachery and how he exploited Khan he would have been put back in the tube. It seemed to work on the soft hearted humans and they lowered Khan's sentence. Kirk even arranged it so Khan would be a member of the new Enterprise when it was finished in a year.

He would be forced to live a year under house arrest until the damned ship was finished.

A knock came from the door. Khan stood with a groan and strode to the door opening it. Mara was standing on the other side in her Starfleet uniform with a bottle of wine in her hand. She was leaning against the doorframe with two glasses in her hand and a wry smirk on her face.

"I take it your trial went well?" Khan asked as he moved aside for Mara to come in.

She strolled inside while Khan watched her pale legs in that short blue uniform and her tall black boots. He shut the door and locked it wanting to enjoy Mara without any interruptions.

Mara turned and smiled as she placed the drinks on the glass coffee table, "You're looking at Dr. Mara Harrison of the Science Division of Starfleet."

Khan couldn't help but smirk, "Ah so they did like you."

She nodded, "They did, well two out of three of them but I will be checked in on sporadically, nothing I can't handle. How did your trial go?"

"I am to be under a year of house arrest then put on the new Enterprise for rehabilitation," Khan snarled. Mara frowned and walked over to him then rested her hands on his shoulders.

"It could have been worse."

Khan shook her off and took a step towards the window, "I am forced once more to be among these, people. For the next six years I will be in my own personal hell, surrounded by humans while my family is pulled away from me. Soon they will take you away from me."

Mara took a step towards him, "You're not going to lose me."

"Eventually," he turned towards her and sighed, "I will, they won't allow you to be around me forever."

Hesitantly Mara walked closer to Khan and looked up into his stone cold eyes, "I'm not going anywhere, not after 300 years."

Khan gripped Mara's face making her look fully up at him. His eyes were full of desperation and fear. Fear of being alone in this Earth again, "You can't say these things. You do not know the future Mara."

Mara looked up at Khan and opened her mouth to say something but Khan forcefully kissing her cutting her off. His kiss took her breath away as he picked her up wrapping her legs around his waist. For one night he was going to forget that she was human, he was going to forget that at any moment she could be taken from him, for one night he was going to make up for 300 years of stolen ones.

He carried her into his room without breaking the kiss. Mara wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Khan forcefully kissed her. His kiss was hard and demanding almost as much as he was. Khan roughly pinned her to the wall then moved his mouth from hers to her neck. Smirking Khan kissed her neck then bit down sharply. Mara let out something between a cry and a moan as Khan's teeth left a mark.

Mara tilted her head to the side as she arched her back while Khan ran his hands along her legs. Her eyes snapped open when she realized that Khan had her between him chest and the wall. He smirked as he cupped her rear, she was truly vulnerable and at his disposal.

"Khan," Mara moaned as she wove her fingers into his hair.

Khan looked up at her with dark desire in his eyes, "I want you, now."

She nodded as Khan moved her tossing her onto the bed with ease. Mara looked up at Khan as he walked over to her as if she was his pray. He crawled over her capturing her lips with his as Khan ran a hand down her leg until he felt the hem of her uniform.

Khan broke the kiss for a moment and whispered huskily in her ear, "I always hated those uniforms."

In one swift motion Khan ripped the dress off Mara with a smirk. He bent down whispering once more, "Ready Dr. Harrison?"

Mara woke up the next morning wrapped in a sheet with Khan's arm protectively around her waist. They stayed up until the early hours of the morning when both their bodies finally subcomed to the fatgie. The sleep that followed was the best Mara ever had in her life.

She stood stretching her arms over her head. On the bed Khan stirred and smirked, "Lovely view," his voice was groggie.

A small smirk tugged on her lips, "Why thank you."

Within moments Khan fell back to sleep while Mara bent over and took his black Starfleet Command shirt and pulled it over her head. Then she walked over to where Khan threw her panties the night before. The tiny garment was lying on the floor next to her tourn uniform.

"Shit," Mara muttered knowing she would have to go get a new uniform soon. She sighed as she walked into the adjoining bathroom. For a moment Mara studied her reflection in the mirror. Hissing she tilted her head to the side and saw the 'love bites' Khan left the night before. Luckily the neckline of his shirt covered up the bruises.

Carefully Mara walked back into the bedroom tiptoeing trying not to wake Khan. He was still fast asleep on the bed. Mara walked over to where Khan's boxers were lying and picked them up then slipped them on.

A knock came from the door. Mara raced towards the door on the balls of her feet trying to reach it before Khan woke up. Luckily as she reached the door before he woke up. Mara turned the knob and pulled the door open with a smirk.

"Well good morning Captain," she beamed.

Kirk smiled and took a moment to examine her attire, "Not yours I take it?"

Mara chuckled, "Lucky guess, would you like to come in?"

"Yeah sure, I wanted to talk to you actually," Kirk said as Mara shut the door behind him. They stopped in the middle of the living room where Kirk smirked down at Mara, "I'd like to talk to you about something you may be interested in."

"I'm all ears Captain."

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**Guys, this is the second to last chapter. It's all over in the next one - but not for long! I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has helped me and all my readers. Thank you so much for following my little tale and sticking with Mara on her adventure. Well enjoy, because it all ends in the next chapter!  
-Cryo**


	30. Chapter 30

Twenty Nine:

-300 Years Ago-

The day Abby Harrison laid her sister to rest was the day she lost herself. It rained that day. Phoenix was cold for once, or maybe it was cold because Abby couldn't feel the heat. She couldn't feel anything. Even though Abby knew the body Khan found that was lying in the coffin wasn't Mara, it still hurt. She didn't know when she was going to see her sister again. But Abby knew one day she would.

Molly clung to her youngest, and now only, daughter. Her eyes were red from crying and had dark bags under them from lack of sleep. For the past week she didn't sleep much, an hour here and there but nothing more. Molly forced herself to work overtime to try to get her mind off her daughter. But every time she saw a young woman with dark hair Molly had to keep herself from calling out Mara's name.

They told her it was the superhumans her husband made.

Abby left that morning abruptly like Mara did, even leaving the towel lying on the floor like Mara did. That's how Molly knew Mara was dead, when she came one from work and saw Abby sitting on the couch, covered in blood staring at the towel on the ground. Though she had two years to mourn for Mara Molly always had false hopes that she would be alive. But seeing Abby there that night made her world come crashing down.

"_**Mom, Maggie- Mara's dead. I-I'm so sorry."**_

It was all Abby could say when she stood to face her mother. But what is someone suppose to say? Was she suppose to tell her mother that Mara was shot by their father and is now lying in a cryostasis tube with Khan and his people?

Sometimes lying was better than the truth.

Even though they weren't religious Molly arranged for there to be a priest to lay Mara to rest. Molly thought it was best for Mara to be laid to rest properly. Abby tried to protest that Mara wouldn't want it this way but Molly was ferm. She couldn't save her daughter but she would be damned if she didn't give her a proper funeral.

When they began to lower the casket into the Earth Molly fell to her knees. Abby stood holding her mother's hand while she looked at the picture of her sister she chose. It was one taken a few years ago, Mara was lounging on the couch in her pj's with her glasses on giving the camera a cheesy smile. Mara never wore her glasses.

No one asked about the absence of John Harrison. No one seemed to care; the whole family knew about Mara and her father's estranged relationship. There weren't a lot of people there. Cole made an appearance at Mara's wake but didn't come to see her off as he called it. A few professors that Mara grew close to came, the cute Chemistry professor came, Richard Jarvis, or whatever his name was. Tony Davis even came to apologize to Mara's casket for calling her a freak.

Abby broke her heel stomping on his foot.

"It's alright mom, Mara's in a better place," Abby mustered the courage to say finally. Richard offered to stay and hold the umbrella over the remaining Harrison woman as they knelt in the wet grass crying. Abby didn't care that the black dress she stole out of Mara's closet four years ago was getting wet. She didn't care that her makeup was running and some strange man was watching her cry. She only cared about holding her mother and crying.

"I miss-I miss her so much Abby," Molly cried into her daughter's sleeve.

Abby stroked her mother's hair, "I know mama, I miss her too. But she's gone and she wouldn't want us to act like this."

Reluctantly Molly nodded and allowed the red headed stranger and Abby to help her to her feet. Molly looked at the red haired blue eyed man and smiled, "Abby what a nice young man."

Abby and Richard smiled at eachother for a moment before helping Molly Harrison back to the car. Before leaving the grave sight Abby looked over her shoulder and swore she saw a familiar pair of ice blue eyes accompanied by dark green ones. She shook her head as she got into the car, one day she would see Mara again-

One day.

-San Francisco, Present Day-

Mara finished making coffee for Jim and herself when Khan dragged himself out of bed. Thankfully he had the sense to put on pants before walking out into the small modern living room. He seemed surprised and slightly annoyed to see Jim sitting on his white couch.

Mara offered her coffee to Khan who shook his head opting for Earl Gray tea instead. Shrugging she walked into the living room and gave Kirk his coffee before sitting down across from him. Kirk eagerly took the mug from her hand and sipped it gratefully. Mara sat on the edge of her chair and did the same.

After a moment Kirk placed the mug onto the glass coffee table then leaned back rubbing his hands on his jeans, "Well like I said I have a proposition for you, now it's thinking pretty far ahead but I want you to think about it."

"Okay well what is it?" Mara asked as Khan walked into the living room. He sat down on the chair next to her and sipped his tea pretending not to care about the conversation in front of him.

"First; how would you like to serve on a starship?" Kirk asked.

Mara beamed, "I'd love to," she saw Khan's jaw clench and remembered their conversation from the night before. He really was scared about losing her.

Kirk smiled as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, "I liked what you did in the short time you were on the Enterprise. You showed courage and picked up the basic knowledge of our computer systems quickly. In a year there will be a new Enterprise, and I want you to serve on her as a science officer."

Mara almost choked on her coffee. Khan reached an arm lazily out and slapped her back twice as Mara coughed. Once she composed herself and Kirk stopped grinning she looked over at Khan who was trying to remain emotionless.

"It would be a five year mission, five years mostly in space. The choice is up to you," Kirk smirked.

She allowed herself to think for a moment. Five years in space, staring up at the stars and exploring new planets. She would be with Khan too, and Bones. It would be the adventure she longed for since she was a child.

Mara stood along with Kirk and extended her hand. Kirk grasped her hand in one of his and the two shook hands before Mara smiled.

"Sign me up."

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**The End my lovely readers!**

I'm sorry I'm awful at endings I really am. I guess I just don't like goodbyes.  
But as Abby said, 'Don't think of this as goodbye think of this as an extended see you later.' By later I mean in the sequel I've been mentioning for the past couple of days. Don't worry, Mara and Khan's story will be contined, it will be filled with new planet's, pesky historians, heart warming moments, and some no so heart warming moments.

Thank you to everyone who has followed **_Into the Black. _****Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would receve the responce it did. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited this story- and thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read it. Even the first chapter or two, thank you.**

You are all wonderful people.

Live long and prosper  
-Cryo x


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